What’s in Your Stash? Marie Montmarquet & Allen Hackett, Founders MD Numbers, Inc.

“Envisioning a future that is abundantly equitable.” That’s how brother and sister Marie Montmarquet and Allen Hackett, founders of MD Numbers, Inc. see their roles in the cannabis industry. 

“It’s important to us to pay it forward with each success,” Hackett shared. “We do this by providing goods and services, as well as an education platform for legacy operators and burgeoning equity entrepreneurs, developing successful and sustainable, legal cannabis companies—which, in turn, will ultimately give back to their own communities. And that’s what being equitable equates to.”

Understanding the plant’s controversial beginnings, Hackett said, while witnessing its growth and acceptance, has given them an even greater appreciation of the industry.

Between them, they have 30 years of loving and living with cannabis in the legacy market, under Prop. 215, California’s Medical Cannabis industry, then transitioning into a regulated marketplace under Prop. 64.

Growing Equitably

The siblings always wanted to take their passion for the plant and make it their life’s work. With MD Numbers, Inc. they’ve reached their goals and then some, establishing a fully vertically integrated cannabis company that includes farming, distribution, retail customers, and the equity community.

Located in the Bay Area, the fingers of MD Numbers are far reaching, with MD Farms, Marie’s Deliverables, and Legacy Coterie, providing a range of goods and services to the California market.

According to its website, the farm was founded in 2016, by “two very particular and meticulous cannabis connoisseurs, and encompasses a 50,000 square feet greenhouse cultivation facility.”

The farm also acts as an educational facility, working with Success Centers in San Francisco, providing cultivation workshops, where its Equity for Industry program attendees can learn what it takes to operate such a facility.

“Training at the farm was developed to ensure marginalized community members have opportunities to enter the emerging legitimate cannabis industry,” Hackett said.

Assistance in Success Centers’ program doesn’t end at the farm, with support for employers and job seekers, and assistance in meeting the mandates set forth by San Francisco’s cannabis legislation. The program is quickly becoming a model for other cities and jurisdictions throughout the state.

Marie’s Deliverables, named after Montmarquet, is a five-star service, serving the Bay Area of California, surrounding Oakland to San Francisco.

Their delivery service includes access to consultations with specialists in CBD, as part of its wellness and outreach arm. Then there’s Legacy Coterie, a full service cannabis consulting, distribution and sales service with a focus on equity in the cannabis space.

Montmarquet said she joined forces with industry experts, Jess Nelsen and Claire Lussier, in creating Legacy Coterie, helping with everything from legacy start-ups looking to transition into the legal market, to multi-licensees scaling operations, menu creation and management, accounting analysis, marketing strategies, quality control, and sales projections, to name just a few offerings.

Their stash includes the popular equity brand Gift of Doja, created by fellow cannabis advocate and entrepreneur Nina Parks.

“Doja, meaning cannabis, is a colloquial name for the plant and conveys the beauty and expansiveness of the experience,” Monmarquet explained. “Doja has the potential to bring you closer to others or to yourself, while providing the potential to provide you with the space and breathing room to gain perspective.”

Gift of Doja, she said, is Nina Park’s ode to cannabis culture, with all its products curated with love.

High Purpose is another equity brand they enjoy with the intent of selling, not just quality cannabis but to educate on the benefits of the plant while they do it.

“High Purpose’s motto is, ‘Get high with a purpose,’ using a large portion of proceeds to provide food, clothing, and other basic needs to those in need within the same communities it serves,” Montmarquet added.

No Sibling Rivalry In This Stash

Both Hackett and Montmarquet agree, cannabis takes the edge of a stressful day and helps them both sleep better. And, more importantly, depending on their individual workloads, both are productive partakers.

“I like to smoke in the morning to begin my day,” Hackett said. “Cannabis helps me focus on the day’s tasks. Smoking Indicas help me decompress at the end of a long day or after a workout. I also imbibe socially with friends, and keep an assortment of flower and edibles in my stash to share.”

As far as creativity goes, Hackett said he enjoys hybrid cultivars with a 50/50 Sativa to Indica ratio. What may be a surprise to most is, this combination also helps him prioritize his busy days, be it building out new multimillion dollar facilities or managing day-to-day tasks.

“Sativa hybrids help me focus, and allow me to really dial in on the things I’m trying to accomplish at that moment in time,” he added. “With so many different businesses to manage, it’s easy to get off-track and not be able to really pay close attention to important details. So, when I’m able to smoke in the morning before I get my day started, that helps me keep my thoughts in order and helps to keep my mind from wandering off or wasting time on things that aren’t as important.”

For Montmarquet, the use of cannabis is meditative and purposeful.

“Cannabis has a very balanced intent,” she explained. “Engaging in the process of smoking from start to finish allows my mind to focus on the present. Cannabis will naturally elevate my mood. In stressful situations, it brings me serenity and allows me to process information in a more methodical fashion.”

As far as choosing her cultivars, Montmarquet takes a different approach, one that is fast taking hold in the realm of terpenes and cannabinoids.

“I’m a connoisseur of different cultivars that produce the highest quality flower and flavor profiles,” she said. “I’m not necessarily searching for a low percentage strain, but I’m looking at the complete finished product, which includes freshness, well proportioned nugs, trichome visibility, color, and aroma—these elements are imperative when choosing a strain.”

Motmarquet said she will typically ingest an edible at night to induce sleep. She also loves ingesting a CBD edible for workout recovery.

Their shared stash is full of products they enjoy, including several equity brands they admire in the space.

A Swiss Army-type knife called The Nuggy is always a useful tool. Premium all natural cigar leaf wraps by All In, a Cookies lighter, Vibes fine rice rolling papers, PAX Era vaporizer, and a Marie’s Deliverables ashtray all share space with myriad cultivars and ingestibles.

Flower includes Slurracrashers by Floracal; Velvet Punch from equity company, Gift of Doja; Guava x Biscotti by Connected; and Kryptochronic by Alien Labs.

Concentrates include: one gram of Franken Berry Power hash by Nasha; Blue River x Grandiflora via Flan Rosin Gelato N’ Cream; and a PAX Pod of Cannatonic 1:4 CBD dominant by Jetty Extracts.

Ingestibles enjoyed are Nanomolecular Galactic Grape gummies in Indica, in a 100 milligram bag at 10 milligrams a dose, by Kahna Nano; Royal Mint Extra Fresh Spray sublingual in 1000 milligram by Breez; and Stimulate THCv Enriched Tablinguals, at 14 milligrams THC, 16 milligrams THCv, and 14 milligrams CBG, by Level Blends.

Bottom line for this dynamic duo is their combined desire to ensure the plant continues to be used in the right way, for the right reasons.

“I want the industry to produce cannabis with ethical and sustainable standards,” she surmised. “Focusing on community reinvestment, small business participation, legacy operators, and those that have been negatively impacted by our racist penal system.”

She also believes that cannabis is ultimately a representation of health. Cannabis was recently deemed essential during the current pandemic, driving the point further home.

“I’ve witnessed the negative impacts from over-corporatizing this plant,” she concluded. “Cannabis is not affordable to the average patient who needs it due to overtaxation and regulation. My hope for the future of the industry is that regulations become more reasonable for small businesses and reprioritize the need for affordable cannabis access for the community at large.”

Hackett believes that changing people’s perceptions of the plant is a start.

“The goal is to continue researching and finding new ways this plant can help us and the planet,” he said. “There is still so much unknown about cannabis, and if we remove the stigma and open up all our available resources, then the results will speak for themselves. Only then, will we be able to move in a positive direction with the plant.”