Cannabis cultivators at Tahoe Hydroponics Co. are looking ahead, after an outstanding breakout year in Nevada’s medical marijuana industry. The company swept the flower awards at the Jack Herer Cup in November, winning Best Strain in all three categories: indica, sativa, and hybrid.
Nevada hasn’t always been a legal and regulated environment for cannabis. Medical marijuana was approved in 2001, but a regulated retail system was not put in place for over a decade. During this time, the growers who would eventually start Tahoe Hydroponics operated in the black market, waiting for the day when they could pursue their passions legally.
Finally, in 2015, the state of Nevada allowed a for-profit medical marijuana program to develop. Tahoe Hydroponics Co. opened its state-of-the-art cultivation facility for business in March 2016, with high hopes and a license to grow.
The evolution of the brand has been an underdog story since its inception. During the first few months of cultivation, the founders saw a $500,000 loss due to issues with Carson City’s water supply. Like other obstacles inherent to working in the cannabis space, this only encouraged the Tahoe Hydroponics team to push harder for the highest standards of quality and safety in their cannabis cultivation practices.
Mark Bruno, the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Tahoe Hydroponics, has designed and managed more than a dozen cultivation facilities in three different states, as well as multiple dispensaries. With over 15 years of experience in the space, he says that the challenges of learning to work with external factors are all a part of being in this emerging industry.
“Every day is a different day. A different battle,” says Bruno in a press release. “I have no clue what will happen each day, which keeps me on my toes.”
The founders of Tahoe Hydroponics set out with one goal in mind: to grow the type of marijuana that they would want to smoke. With a strong foundation set for 2017, the company hopes to make Nevada proud by continuing to revolutionize the field of indoor cannabis cultivation.
Plans for the coming year include the expansion of Tahoe Hydroponics’ existing cultivation facility in northern Nevada, while bringing a larger cultivation facility on line in southern Nevada in anticipation of the recreational consumer cannabis market launching in summer 2017. In addition to physical growth, Tahoe Hydroponics recently launched Tahoe Genetics and looks to roll out new genetics every two weeks from their breeding program to continue to raise the standard for cannabis cultivation throughout the state of Nevada.
