With equity licenses coming online, Maryland’s Cannabis community is seeing some fresh brands entering the market.
Moment Maryland is the product of Venus Hemachandra, a powerful force who has been dedicated to the industry since its inception. You may remember Hemachandra from Herbiculture, a dispensary in Burtonsville.
“We sold Herbiculture back in June 2023, right before adult-use sales began. I was super disappointed to miss it after pushing so hard for legalization. We even used the dispensary as a hub to distribute lawn signs during the referendum,” Hemachandra said in an email to Maryland Leaf. “Ultimately, we off-loaded the dispensary because Maryland put a five-year moratorium in the AU bill, which would have locked us in for five years if we didn’t make a move before adult-use launched. So we had no choice but to do it and get our other licenses operational. Herbiculture became the stepping stone that allowed us to get our cultivation and processing licenses operational.”
Fast-forward to today, and Hemachandra is using her license to bring a true craft product to Maryland. Jordan Lavender, cultivation manager, gave us an inside look at the cultivation facility, and the setup was refreshing and unique in more ways than one.
Every stage of the plant’s life cycle occurs in its own prefabricated shipping container, with only 150 per container. Downscaling the canopy in each room compared to a standard grow facility creates a new level of control. This way, they can give each strain exactly what it needs and only keep one to two per container. With four flower rooms, they are pulling down 600 plants per harvest, dialing in the craft element to provide a high-quality product.
Before any strain makes its way into the lineup, it must go through a research and development process, which ensures that only strains with specific expressions are grown. If a cultivar doesn’t meet their standards, they either try again with a different phenotype or move on to another strain.
“We are growing sought-after genetics with costs as high as $2,000 per clone,” Joseph Kiely, facility general manager, said. “We’re still discussing growing the hardest to obtain strains like Toad Venom.”
Maryland’s market needed an infusion of this type of dedication to craft Cannabis. Not for the hype, but to truly seek out the best genetics and continuously keep fresh strains available to the public.
As we walked through the flower stage rooms, the distinct aromas seemed to keep getting louder. The final flower room smacked everyone in the face as they entered through the door, and immediately, we needed to know more about this strain. It was Candiez, a cross between Candy Fumez and Zkittlez, which creates an aroma true to its name. A mix of sweet and sour candy filled our nostrils and intrigued our minds, encouraging us to try this strain once it hits the market.
They are doing things right at the Moment facility, and the company has released an impressive product, especially for being so new. The genetics are top-tier, and the expressions of the plants they grow do those genetics justice.
Growing Cannabis is for everyone, and Hemachandra and her team of dedicated, passionate employees are a shining example of that. Keep an eye out for exciting new strains dropping from Moment as this crew continues to lay their foundation in the Maryland Cannabis industry.
