Samantha Blum hasn't been able to secure investors for her small-scale marijuana cultivation facility in the two years since Missouri awarded her a microbusiness license. So she and her longtime partner, Anthony La Pietra, decided to give up and fund the entire operation themselves, cashing in La Pietra's retirement to build a greenhouse in Adrian, an hour outside of Kansas City.
After two years of "blood, sweat and tears," they finally received the state's final approval to begin operating on Sept. 3. But just hours after the state's email arrived, a massive storm crushed one side of the greenhouse.
"To go from such a high to such an incredibly bottom low…" she said. "It's been such a roller coaster."
Despite the setback, her family rallied to fix the wall, and now their business, Bud Wizard, is expected to have its first harvest in the coming weeks. Blum's facility is among the 12 microbusinesses the state has approved to begin operating out of 68 total licenses issued. Two are dispensaries. The rest are wholesale licenses like Blum's that can grow up to 250 plants and manufacture marijuana products.
Read more at Missouri Independent
