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The cannabis industry is filled with unlikely success stories. And while stellar products will always speak for themselves, the journey to market is often as fascinating and impressive as the wares themselves. Multimillion-dollar cannabis powerhouse CannaCraft is behind some of California\u2019s most recognizable and trusted brands, including Care by Design, AbsoluteXtracts and Humboldt Terp Council. In addition to their vast list of SKUs, the California-based company played an instrumental role in developing statewide manufacturing regulations, thanks in part to their own impeccable standards.<\/p>\n
CannaCraft\u2019s<\/a> incredible ascendency is still somewhat surreal for co-founder Dennis Hunter, a second-generation cultivator from Mendocino. Hunter, who spent six and a half years in federal prison after a DEA raid in the late \u201890s (the largest raid in California history at the time), can hardly believe the narrative shift.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went from sitting in jail to being probably the most compliant and regulated cannabis facility in the state,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n Quickly becoming \u201cthe P&G of California cannabis,\u201d CannaCraft provides a high-quality family of brands with offerings for every kind of consumer. Their evolution from legacy growers to compliance poster children is a testament to the power of perseverance\u2014that and amazing cannabis.<\/p>\n CannaCraft\u2019s beginnings date back to 2014, during the Prop 215 medical marijuana era.<\/p>\n At that time, Hunter was teaming up with Ned Fussell, a fellow lifelong cultivator. They were searching for new and exciting ways to get their cannabis to medical patients and decided to obtain a supercritical extraction machine.<\/p>\n Soon after, the pair launched their two flagship brands: Care By Design\u2014a collection of specially formulated wellness tinctures, soft gels, gummies, vapes and topicals with blends of THC and CBD\u2014and AbsoluteXtracts (ABX), a line of vape cartridges, soft gels and gummies designed for daily consumers. Both brands saw early success, motivating Hunter and Fussell to reach further and develop Satori artisan chocolates for edibles fans.<\/p>\n CannaCraft\u2019s explosive growth led to the acquisition of a former medical device manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, perfect for large-scale, pharmaceutical-grade production.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was probably too big for us at the time,\u201d Hunter laughed. \u201cBut we were like, \u2018Well, this is what we want to be, we\u2019re going to just grow into it!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n CannaCraft built a reputation for setting the bar extremely high with regards to safety, sanitation and testing in cannabis before it was even required. So, when stricter legislation regarding safe manufacturing practices became state law in 2016, government officials took note of CannaCraft\u2019s remarkable SOPs. Bureaucrats arrived at the Santa Rosa facility by the busload to see the company\u2019s impressive procedures firsthand.<\/p>\n Despite the fanfare, local law enforcement raided the facility mere weeks after the legislators\u2019 visit. Hunter was placed under arrest and held on an initial bail of $5 million.<\/p>\n \u201cThe police didn\u2019t know that state had just been through. The city officials just saw my background that I\u2019d been in prison for cannabis before and thought they had the kingpin and thought it was all illegal,\u201d Hunter explained.<\/p>\n After a public outcry from community members and state officials, Hunter was released from jail a day and a half later. An investigation into the production of finished goods continued, with Sonoma County prosecutors alleging the operation was still technically illegal.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember being at this city council meeting and the mayor referring to the raid on our company as \u2018growing pains,\u2019\u201d recalled CannaCraft Director of Government Affairs Tiffany Devitt, who\u2019s been with the company since the beginning.<\/p>\n The team quickly got to work, rallying California legislators for clearer manufacturing regulations. Once the ink was dry on new production laws, it wasn\u2019t long before things were back up and running, paving the way for CannaCraft to become the brand behemoth it is today.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s been most fascinating about CannaCraft\u2019s journey as a company has been that it\u2019s existed within that transition from what was basically one of the least regulated industries in the country to the most regulated,\u201d Devitt said.<\/p>\n For Hunter and the rest of the CannaCraft family, authenticity is always at the forefront, especially when it comes to bringing new brands into the fold. Whether it\u2019s the development of the \u201cby women, for women\u201d cannabinoid-infused sparkling drink line Gem + Jane, or the acquisition of multiple Emerald Cup-winning concentrates company Humboldt Terp Council, CannaCraft stays true to their roots.<\/p>\n Hunter and Fussell\u2019s own story also inspired the creation of Farmer and the Felon, the company\u2019s first flower line. Wanting to help other victims of the failed War on Drugs, the brand donates a portion of sales to the Last Prisoner Project (LPP)<\/a>, a non-profit dedicated to freeing approximately 40,000 non-violent cannabis prisoners.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many people that really fought for decades and decades to get this plant to be legal. We always need to pay homage to the people that fought so hard to do that,\u201d Hunter said of the partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still people going to prison over cannabis, there are still people in jail\u2014there\u2019s still work to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Looking ahead, CannaCraft has plans for revamped product lines and new partnerships to support the ever-evolving cannabis market. However, Hunter says what matters most to him and the rest of the team is moving the needle forward for the community, especially at such a critical time for their fellow operators.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a company that really cares about the industry,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re always concerned about where it\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>\n The post CannaCraft is Raising the Bar One Brand at a Time<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The cannabis industry is filled with unlikely success stories. And while stellar products will always speak for themselves, the journey to market is often as fascinating and impressive as the wares themselves. Multimillion-dollar cannabis powerhouse CannaCraft is behind some of California\u2019s most recognizable and trusted brands, including Care by Design,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":54467,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1275,148,50,2047,16124,16125,16126,15632,16127,16128],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54466"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54466"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54468,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54466\/revisions\/54468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Legacy Roots Evolve with Legalization<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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<\/a>New Brands Stay True to CannaCraft Roots<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: CannaCraft is Raising the Bar One Brand at a Time<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"