Dispensing Unmatched Safety, Quality, and Education with a Local Impact
Photos by Jessie McCall
Despite almost a decade of legalization in California, cannabis is still heard in whispers around holiday dinner tables, enjoyed discreetly in grandparent’s driveways, and hidden shamefully into unworn high-tops on closet shelves. It’s been given monikers to avoid outright speaking its name––Mary Jane, weed, pot, doobie, bud, ganja, hash––building on the stigma and depravity of its use.
The word “stigma,” in ancient Greece, means “to mark with a scar,” often an unsolicited tattoo given to “bad guys” denoting them as people to be avoided. Ironically, “kánnabis” as it was known, was not a cause for stigma, but was widely used for both medicine and recreation as far back as 8800 B.C.
With legalization, many of these modern-day scars have faded, but Grass Valley Provisions, the only cannabis dispensary in Grass Valley, aims to erase these wounds entirely––with an available and educated staff, world-class design, local flower, and a commitment to quality and safety unmatched––as Nevada County’s premier resource for all cannabis products. A heavy claim? Yes. Well supported? Absolutely.
Ambiance
Professionally designed by Bri Ingram –– a sixth generation Nevada City-an and the designer behind The Holbrooke and National Hotels –– GVP is light and airy with exposed wood beams, gold-monogrammed mirrors, and oversized tufted leather sofas (yes, I said sofas). “I designed the interior space to feel like a modern apothecary,” says Bri. “The design is fresh and hip, but features vintage Victorian oak display cases and natural exposed textures from the original historic building. It feels shiny and youthful but at the same time familiar and lived in. My goal was to pay tribute to historic Grass Valley by creating a general store vibe and embellishing with polished, modern elements.”
Grass Valley Provisions’ look and feel, aside from its quality and safety standards, was among the largest investments made towards destigmatization, aiming for an environment that would appeal to a broader audience and serve clients who may have otherwise held preconceived beliefs about the industry. “In traditional dispensaries there are no windows, the staff promotes a very singular image of the type of person who uses cannabis (often a stereotype), and it creates a lot of anxiety for the customer,” explains Jordan Stratigakes, General Manager. “There’s still such stigma around cannabis. It’s being broken, but it takes time. The feeling in a lot of these ‘shadowed’ dispensaries is very similar to the first time you purchase alcohol––you know it’s legal, but you still feel like you’re doing something wrong. A huge part of the design of our building was to make sure our guests felt comfortable, to offer a bright and open space with windows and natural light, and to provide a staff who represents a more holistic image of today’s cannabis users. It was important that as believers in cannabis we do our part to dismantle our guests’ nervousness, beginning with their first impression of our building to the moment they walk out the door.”
Testing & Safety
Owners Cameron Brady and Ryan Haley are Nevada County born and raised, graduates of Nevada Union, fathers, and multi-preneurs in the cannabis industry who sought to offer their hometown a better choice, leaning heavily into safety and service. A series of articles by the LA Times this past summer showed high, and in some cases extreme levels of pesticides, both foreign and domestic, from off-the-shelf products through private testing. “A huge benefit to shopping at dispensaries is knowing the product you’re consuming is safe,” says Ryan, former owner of The GrowBiz, the nation’s third largest hydroponics and garden center. “That’s one of the advantages of shopping at Grass Valley Provisions, we know the local cannabis industry well, we get to see the faces of the individuals who produce the products we sell. We know it’s safe because we have a relationship with the cultivators and with the community.”
Organic Comparable & Fair Trade Practices
The USDA organic seal is a certification provided by the federal government. Since cannabis remains a federally classified schedule 1 drug, there is no legal pathway to receive an organic certification from the USDA, so California created the next best thing. “The state of California approved a bill that created a program for cannabis operators in California and they called it the OCal Program,” says Emily Porter, Director of Compliance & Expansion at Latitude Management, a representative of GVP. “OCal created a pathway for the certification of cannabis, legally grown with a license in the state of California, that meets all of the standards that it would take to get a USDA organic certification, for either your farms, production, distribution and packaging facility, or your manufacturing practices. So what we say is that it’s ‘organic comparable.’”
It might be enough to offer products under the OCal certification, but GVP didn’t stop there, all sungrown outdoor-flower on their shelf is grown locally, with several of these farms also Sun + Earth Certified––an organization that emphasizes cultivation, human empowerment, and community engagement. “We’re generational growers,” says Cameron, “The knowledge around raising this plant has been passed down in our region across lifetimes, whereas in other areas farms can become more opportunistic, established by cultivators simply looking to turn a profit.”
“The Sun + Earth Certification is more intense than OCal,” adds Emily, “Not only does the product that’s grown have to be safe, in addition to all of the inputs, pesticides, fungicides, and nutrients used for the plant, but to be Sun + Earth Certified you also have to receive verification of fair labor practices and community involvement which, in the cannabis space to consider fair labor and fair trade, is really rare, especially for an industry that’s been operating in the dark for many decades. I know Grass Valley provisions have put a lot of effort into showcasing their Sun + Earth Certified sustainably-grown cannabis.”
The Team
Grass Valley Provisions is a 21 and over recreational dispensary with a staff who can speak to a range of cannabis applications from anxiety, to impaired sleep, to chronic pain, to recreation. “Just the other day a member of our staff was sharing how happy she is to work here; that she feels like she’s actually making a difference,” says Jordan. “She helped a gentleman with recommendations for pain and sleep and they all worked really well for him. We’re not a medical dispensary, but the majority of our staff has over a decade of exposure and familiarity with cannabis.”
Mike Ingram, a licensed cultivator whose farm was one of the first 10 in Nevada County to earn its’ license, and who has also gone through the OCal Certification process, is a weekly associate at GVP. He is also a member of a cooperative group of cultivators under the name Yuba River Organics. Mike’s experience in the cannabis industry spans decades, bringing a revered knowledge to both guests and associates. “My favorite clients are those with medical questions, but I like to listen in on any interaction between a guest and associate and help where I can. The staff does a really good job representing the consumers. Jordan hired associates with connoisseur knowledge on just about everything. With Grass Valley Provisions being owned by locals, there’s a desire to have that community presence with the employees and consumers. They chose a lot of really nice personalities who make it feel like a friendly-family environment that’s also very professional. I would definitely say it’s a professional vibe versus a stoner vibe at Grass Valley Provisions.”
Local Leaders
With local ownership comes non-profit support, fundraising support, and board presence on behalf of GVP’s owners who cover a range of community-focused investments both in time and resources. “We have a huge vested interest in this community,” says Ryan. “Our roots run deep here. Our families live here, our daughters live here, our wives and grandparents and brothers and sisters live here. We were raised here, generations of our families have lived here. My mom lives down the street. My dad lives in Camptonville. Cameron’s parents live up on the hill. All of our money goes back into the community. Everyone that we hire lives in the community. The products we sell come from the community. So it’s a trickle down effect economically because it gets filtered back into our local businesses.”
More than a Dispensary
Dismantling decades of discredited benefits requires an alternate narrative that begins with prioritizing the very aspects of cannabis that were once under attack. Concentrating on safety, quality, sourcing, and education, GVP is proving that cannabis has a positive position in our community, one that can heal the misconceptions around an industry, an agriculture, and a philosophy by offering tremendous advantages, both for the economy and its people.
“That’s very important for me,” adds Ryan, “The fact that the customer feels comfortable and welcome in our space. I think historically people felt like they were doing something wrong, but it’s important for us that grandma, and grandpa, and Aunts, and Dads feel comfortable here and want to come back. We get it. It can be strange to go from something being illegal to legal, but we want to remove the stigma. This land used to have a giant greenhouse out front next to a crummy building, and now it’s a beautiful space. We want to elevate the whole customer experience, reverse the misconceptions, and add to our community.”
403 Idaho Maryland Rd, Grass Valley, CA 95945
