BOOK REVIEW

Craft Weed - Ryan Stoa

Meticulously researched exploration of the cannabis industry’s key existential question

When I first joined the cannabis industry, it quickly became clear that the opportunity before me was a seismic one. Unlike other industries born – or reborn – due to the governing apparatus’ temperament of the day, cannabis had remained widely accessible and was now to straddle a dual identity across the lines of licit and illicit activity. These unique market forces entranced me to read as many scientific studies, analyst reports and policy papers I could lay my hands on. 

Almost eight years later, I still find the phenomenon of this policy shift to be hypnotizing. One only needs to appreciate that cannabis’ inclusion in the UN drug control treaties was based mostly on empirical testimony from unlettered policemen, rather than a formal scientific review, to grasp the sociocultural significance of cannabis being reintroduced into mainstream consciousness. Perceptions that ossified over fifty years are being incinerated.

And yet the future shape and form of the cannabis market itself is unclear. Its potential is undeniable: one example from Stoa’s text is that in just four years after legalization in Washington, cannabis became the state’s second most valuable crop, after apples. (But apples required 148,00 acres of farmland to claim top position, whereas cannabis only spanned 411 acres.) Across several US states, data is showing a clear shift in consumption patterns away from alcohol, long considered a mainstay of America’s social vibrancy, and towards cannabis. Governments from Mexico to South Africa have openly espoused the benefits of moving beyond prohibitionist thinking. Even in Europe, where ideas of reform are often suffocated by outdated EU law, many countries have legalized cannabis’ medical use and some are taking brave steps to permit home growing and trials of recreational sales.  

This motley of approaches reflect a market that is a lattice of different cannabinoid ingredients being processed into various product formats for sale into channels ranging from purely pharmaceutical to wellness to recreational consumption. The optimal value chain is still pixelated, with margins flowing downstream as cultivation becomes oversaturated, and then back upstream as more end distributors become licensed. This cycle has been occurring and reoccurring for years as new markets open and expand.

Craft Weed could be argued as being out of date given its 2018 publication – and how much has since transpired in the industry – but its central questions are still unanswered, preserving the relevance of Stoa’s intensely researched words. The opening chapters are undeniably timeless, especially the portrayal of an idyllic, tight-knight community in Northern California which peacefully supports itself with small-scale cannabis farming. From there Stoa chronicles the angry rise of anti-cannabis vilification throughout the 20th century, best embodied by the ruthless government C.A.M.P. program of war-like helicopter raids with armed federal agents bashing down the front doors of family homes. 

Although the book is very US-centric, Stoa does cover cannabis’ historical uses globally and even explains Canada’s first legal medical system, in which a single company was contracted to grow cannabis in an underground mine in Flin Flon, Alberta. Stoa writes that this program was discontinued when the cannabis tested for mould and other biological impurities, amidst suspicions that early on Health Canada was delivering products to patients without any testing procedures at all.

Stoa eventually arrives at his philosophical crossroads, contemplating whether cannabis will resemble tobacco, wherein the market is controlled by a small number of politically influential conglomerates, or if fragmentation will better characterize a market of diversity and regional quality. Much of the speculation hinges on if future regulation will enable greater distinction in, for example, how cannabis is grown, such as indoor or outdoor cultivation. If a global supply chain does one day emerge, it could see high-tech facilities in Denmark, where every environmental element is controlled, competing with sun-grown cannabis in the fields of Morocco.

Another potential differentiator is its source and if a system of appellation will be (or could be) developed. Will it be like wine, where US rules mandate a minimum percentage of grapes must be grown in a certain state to earn its appellation label? Or will it go farther, like France, where appellation is qualified by both the geographic region and the production standards? And the comparisons with wine flourish just as deeply as with tobacco. There are 4,000 wineries in California, a figure dwarfed by the over 50,000 cannabis farms. And yet arguments that each terroir adds a unique sensory effect to weed consumption is still mostly unaccepted even by the most snobbish connoisseurs. 

Stoa even turns his magnifying glass to the value of genetics, though industry insiders will be aware that naturally occurring plants cannot be patented and even achieving breeder’s protection for novel varieties is notoriously hard. Some experts posit that because most consumers are not sufficiently discerning, cannabis is a commodity. Others say that such a term can’t blanket the whole market, but that its use is justified for a significant portion of what’s on the shelf.

Thus, the factors are plentiful as to the make-up of the future cannabis market. Stoa suggests that cannabis regulation represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spark the rebirth of the American family farm, an outcome for which he openly cheers because he sees it as a symbol of public interest. I am more apathetic, but retaining the feeling that natural products are grown with love and care  - wherever that may be - syncs with my hopes for a vibrant cannabis industry. Like other consumer goods, I expect the long term value will be in the actual brands but Craft Weed expertly questions whether and why these brands can’t be built upon a richly diverse landscape of agricultural activity. Whether you harbour a capitalistic or sociocultural interest in cannabis, Ryan Stoa’s book triggered thought in ways that are best expressed simply as a strong recommendation that you read it yourself.

-NP, March 2024