As the newest grower to hit the Maryland Cannabis scene, the BL^CK MRKT team knows it takes passion and perseverance — or a lifetime’s experience of growing Cannabis before entering the market — to make a name for yourself. A dream team behind the scenes certainly helps, with CEO Seth Murphy, head of cultivation and post-production manager Jason Harman, aka “Medicine Man,” and well-known Cannabis geneticist/grower Roblato at the helm.
Let’s go back a generation and give a brief history of Murphy’s father, Judge William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr. He is a longtime advocate for civil rights and worked in landmark cases, including representing the family of Freddie Gray. Murphy Jr.’s efforts in creating an equitable environment in Maryland earned him the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award and the Charles Hamilton Houston Award for Lifetime Achievement in Litigation. With these accolades, it’s easy to see where the passion in this family gets its roots. Murphy adopted his father’s values and carried them over to an industry that needs them.
Through his brand BL^CK MRKT (pronounced “Black Market”), Murphy brought a strain to market in honor of his father called Murphy’z Law. Maryland is loving this strain and many others from this brand, including Super Boof, Yikes, Candy Panties, Black Runtz, Cherry Limeade, Agave, Rainbow Walker and many more to come.
Harman has grown Cannabis since he was 16 years old, and he started messing around with concentrate production in 1998. He went from making bubble hash and rosin to “tourmaline” CBD crystals in Oregon. Harman was born in Utah, but he grew up in Virginia before growing Cannabis in several different states and climates, from Hawaii and Colorado to Oregon and California. These experiences led him to “develop a diverse palate of Cannabis flavors.”
Additionally, Harman has the necessary experience for growing high-quality Cannabis at scale, putting love into every plant that makes its way through the facility. It’s easy to see how much fire Harman has in his heart for the plant, and the positive vibe he brings to the grow should not be underestimated.
As we walked through on harvest day, we asked several employees about their favorite part of harvest time and working at the BL^CK MRKT grow.
“This is my hometown, and the fact that I now work in a grow that gives back to the community is amazing to see,” Andrew Sewell said. Crystal Minor’s favorite part of harvest day is “seeing the plants before they dry out, watching them go through their life cycle from start to finish.” Jaden Batson takes pleasure in the little things, like “smelling all of the different scent profiles.”
All of these employees have a different and unique passion for the plant, which is necessary if you’re going to show up and treat each input with care, leading to a top-tier product for the consumer.
BL^CK MRKT has come a long way in a short amount of time, and you’d better believe they are just getting started. Currently, they are seeking a processing license, which would allow them to produce top-quality concentrates and grow with that goal in mind. This team has done so well with flower, so you can only imagine how fire their concentrates would be.
Shoutout to the whole crew at BL^CK MRKT for bringing love and enthusiasm into everything they do. The Maryland market is a better place with you in it!
