In the “essential” cannabis landscape that exists today, so-called top-shelf product is easier to secure than ever. From the proliferation of delivery services to curbside pickup options, it’s like we’ve gone back in time to the days before the experience of going into a dispensary even existed, but with a better product selection. The catch? Just because that eighth cost you $60, it doesn’t mean that you’re about to consume piff.
In a world where consumers often choose their flowers without being able to smell, feel or look at them ahead of time, trusting a grower has become more important than ever. If you’re spending top dollar, you need top-of-the-line product—and unfortunately, not all flowers are bred the same. The easiest solution to this dilemma is to go with a tried-and-true supplier like the highly decorated High Times Cannabis Cup recipient Cannabiotix.
Launched during a time when patients were the priority and profits were a bonus, Cannabiotix was founded by Neema Samari and J.B., two expert cultivators on a mission to provide only the most impressive flowers the globe has to offer. While growers were pivoting in droves to hyped-up strains like Gelato and Ice Cream Cake, the Cannabiotix team was hunting for the rarest phenos and breeding their own creations out of the elements they loved most from each.
Billing itself as a “boutique cannabis company,” Cannabiotix was originally founded in California, but now has footprints in both the Sunshine State and Nevada. After a few years of making a name for themselves around Las Vegas, the team behind the brand recently made their triumphant return to Southern California, opening a brand-new, top-of-the-line 71,000-square-foot cultivation compound built with their developed best practices in mind.
“We’ve always had a clean space, but now it’s laboratory-grade. Nevada has much stricter testing standards than California,” Samari tells High Times, so they’ve built their new lab to far surpass California’s requirements. “Our whole philosophy is ‘Never introduce the problem.’”
The Art of The Grow
With 12 flowering rooms and an average of 725 pounds turned over per month, Cannabiotix is once again wearing the crown as one of the state’s main players, and a cult-like following keeps the company’s unique genetics fetching top dollar up and down the state.
One thing that propels Cannabiotix to stand out is that its team truly appreciates the art of the grow. They know the best flowers are grown with love, using natural and sustainable farming techniques, so not only have they never used pesticides—they recycle. Utilizing the latest and greatest that technology has to offer, the team is able to make the most even from its condensation.
“We recycle about 65 percent of the water supply from our atmosphere—which we learned back in the day when we were trying to keep our electrical and water bills low,” Samari says. “All of the condensation from our dehumidifiers and our ACs comes through to a silo tank, recycled through our reclaimed-water skid, and then goes over to our sweet-water tanks. We get about 9,500 gallons a day through this system.”
The team also follows the mantra that “you’re only as good as the genetics you create.” Even more so—holding those genetics close to the vest, and ensuring no one is faking the funk, is paramount. With over 15 High Times Cannabis Cup wins under its belt, Cannabiotix isn’t just some run-of-the-mill flower factory. In fact, in the team’s own words, this is the science of quality.
Their propriety genetics have developed a name for themselves across the globe—propelling cultivars like Tropicanna (Orange Crush x SFV OG), Cereal Milk (Strawberry Lemonade x Thin Mint Cookies), Strawberry Lemonade (NL #5 x Strawberry Cough), L’Orange (Orange Crush x Lemon Burst), Kush Mountains (Blue Flame x White Walker OG pheno #4) and Casino Kush (Blue Flame x White Walker OG pheno #22) to widespread fame even outside of the regions they’re available in.
“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been passed strains, mainly in the early days, from some incredible old heads,” Samari boasts. “A large majority of what we’re growing and selling right now is proprietary—a lot of people are growing some super-fire gear, but there’s a lot of overlap. We grow in-house exclusives, and we’ve always been on some keep-it-in-the-family-type shit with our genetics.”
Another detail that makes Cannabiotix special, which clearly presents itself in the end product, is the family atmosphere the team fosters. These guys aren’t just working a job—they’re in a family business, and they all want to make sure you remember their set. For example, they aren’t the type to poach master growers from other farms; in fact, most of their specialists started their journey with the Cannabiotix family working as trimmers.
“One of our guys, Corey, started as a trimmer, and now is the assistant director of cultivation,” Samari says. “We keep an academy going—the people that we have on a team, we make sure they’re well fed, they’re well taken care of. It’s always a team thing, and as we progress and get new facilities and new opportunities open up, then we move them up the ladder. Next thing you know, our trimmer is a packager, or even head of packaging—everyone really feels like they have a piece of the pie.”
Samari attributes the brand’s success to the environment they’ve fostered. And now that he’s operating the business with his best friend, Eran Haroni, it truly feels like a family environment at the compound. No one is there just for a job—they’re there because they’re passionate cannabis enthusiasts, and it’s that fabric that separates the wannabes from the success stories.
This article was first published in the September 2020 issue of High Times Magazine. Subscribe here!
