Town-owned cannabis farms a coming trend in CT?
EASTON — An agreement between officials and a local business resulted in Easton becoming the first municipality in Connecticut to grow cannabis on townowned land - and could be a model for other towns to cash in on the adult-use market.
While it took a while to iron out the details, Easton Grows LLC used approximately one acre of town property on South Park Avenue to grow cannabis plants for hemp and CBD. Notably, the product was not used for THC, the psychoactive property known for getting people high.
As a part of the deal, the company paid Easton 20 percent of its profits. Officials say the agreement is a way Easton can participate in the modern economy while also honoring its roots as a farming community.
State Rep. Anne Hughes, a Democrat who represents Easton, Weston and Redding in the legislature, said the partnership is the only such deal in Connecticut. She said people like to buy products from local farmers they know and trust.
“Easton is a farming community,” she said. “We've been farming for hundreds of years, and we have I think 30 active farmers in Easton alone. This is a legacy that we're really proud of.”
Griffith Conti, one of the three owners of Easton Grows, said he has a background in the cannabis industry. He said the South Park Advisory Committee, which aimed to find uses for the South Park Avenue property, was looking for ways to preserve the land while also benefiting the town.
Easton First Selectman David Bindelglass said the company's gross sales were $6,472, of which they paid the town $1,294. As promised, he said, Easton Grows returned pristine land to the town.
Bindelglass said the selectmen approved the deal because they thought it would be a good experiment. As long as the company doesn't destroy the land, he said, there was nothing to lose. He said the agreement highlighted a few things for him.
“It highlights that farming is a potential use for some of the remainder of that land — even if the (Aspetuck) Land Trust buys it,” he said. “There's also been talk about potential difficulties of securing the property, and they had no issues.”
Conti said his business partner Jeff Becker sought him out after hemp was identified as a good use for some of the land. While he, Becker and David Dwight Senior, the third partnet, thought it would be easy to get a green-light on the project from the town, he said, that is not what happened. “Boy were we wrong,” he said. Conti said they went through four or five months of meetings with the Board of Selectmen, the Planning and Zoning Board and the Agriculture Commission, adding they were rejected three times before finally getting approval.
For that reason, Conti said, they did not put plants in the ground until August. But, he said, once approval came, they got moving very quickly.
“There's never been a situation where you've been able to grow a crop on town land,” he said, later noting the products were sold at Franny's of Westport. “We ended up growing an incredible crop.”
Getting approval, growing and selling
Conti said getting approval from the selectmen and P&Z was relatively easy. The biggest step of the approval process was the Agriculture Commission, he said, which required an entire business plan.
“They grilled us for hours, and really had us put a lot of information together,” he said.
The trio spent $12,000 on an attorney to help them get through the approval process, Conti said, which also included negotiating a lease with the town.
He said they were treated differently because of the crop they were growing.
“We went to 12 or 15 different meetings and everything was centered around these completely bogus assumptions about cannabis,” he said. “We were kind of working against every objection you can imagine.”
Conti said people had doubts that they would be successful in their venture. He said some residents and officials doubted they would be able to sell the crop for a premium price, while others worried about security of the farm.
Conti said Easton Grows went about creating a little farm on the one acre of land it leased. He said they planted the cannabis in rows in two hoop houses.
“We had about 150 total plants,” he said. “They flowered beautifully and we got some really incredible yields.”
Conti said the company had 100 percent compliance with the law and no incidents of theft or public safety issues.
“I mean, they thought animals were going to come by and get high from a plant that can't get you high,” he said.
Hughes said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture visited the farm last year.
“It's a really low-impact use of that land that creates some revenue and creates a good quality, local grown product,” she said.
Conti said the only reason the business even came to be was because they could sell the product at Franny's of Westport, which he also owns. He said the company had worked hard to create the brand for Easton Grows, adding they grew five different strains.
“We sell bulk flower. We sell a premium pre-roll and a five-pack,” he said. “That was all sold exclusively through Franny's.”
Conti said CBD products like the ones grown in Easton are federally legal because they are derived from hemp. He said people use it to help with pain, inflammation, sleep and overall wellness.
“On the marijuana side, there's some (people) that can get on board, others that can't,” he said. “But, from the pure, fundamental medical benefits side of it, CBD is widely studied.”
Conti said the company had grown five pounds of product originally, noting sales started on October 4. He said town officials only wanted the 20 percent cut of sales up until January of this year, but there is still more Easton Grows products at Franny's.
“We also have, I think, five more pounds of the crop from last year that continues to be sold,” he said, adding his company has gotten a lot of positive feedback about their product.
Bindelglass said it is hard to judge the financial results of the agreement, as Easton Grows started growing late and it did not make much money.
“Who knows how much better it could be?” he said.
Looking forward
Conti said the business trio is definitely interested in growing hemp again, but he does not know where that will happen.
“We're going to continue in some format and we're exploring what that looks like, whether it's on town-owned land or private land, and whether or not we grow as big of a crop,” he said. “We're really focused on some of the exotic cannabinoids, so som eof the very niche strains that have a lot of good results behind them.”
Conti also said they have also applied to the state to grow cannabis for THC, the psychoactive ingredient, now that it is legal and the state is coming out with the regulations surrounding its production and sale.
“That would be dictated by the towns, if we were to win a license, whether its through Easton Grows or Franny's,” he said. “We're also applying individually. It's a lottery process.”
Conti pointed out that many towns, including neighboring Fairfield, have voted to put a one year moratorium on cannabis establishments. Easton's Planning and Zoning Commission is currently considering a similar moratorium.
“If we get a license, there's a stipulation that within 18 months you have to become active with that license,” he said. “You're going to be limited on the municipalities that allow this.”
Bindelglass said the Aspetuck Land Trust could still allow for agricultural use of the land even if after it becomes deed-restricted. He said the agreement turned out to be a good thing.
“To me, it's indicative of the town's flexibility, sometimes, to consider other ways to keep Easton Easton — to keep it agricultural and to preserve space,” he said. “This was a positive.”
Bindelglass said it might be a tougher sell if Easton Grows wanted to grow cannabis for THC on the property, but he thinks it would still be considered.
Hughes said growing hem p,a fast-growing, renewable product, is an i mportant way to replace fossil fuel-based products like plastic in clothing. She said she hopes Easton does not pass a moratorium on cannabis establishments.
“As we build the responsible economy that we want, that's sustainable for the future, we need to build off of our strengths,” she said, adding responsible, inspected and licensed agricultural products fall under that.
Hughes questioned why a town would not want to explore options with cannabis growers when it could get a portion of the sales tax and revenue from their sales, all while knowing the people doing the work.
If they were to win the license, Conti said, it would also require a huge financial investment to get the THC project off the ground. Essentially, whether Easton Grows ends up growing cannabis for THC in Easton depends on getting the license and it being allowed there, he said.
“But by all means, if we win (we might try it),” he said.