Highest Standards at High Altitude
As you have driven along Salazar Road in Taos you may not have noticed the rather imposing farm of greenhouses set back behind a row of buildings. One of those buildings is Southwest Wellness Center, and those greenhouses are home to New Mexico’s finest m
Southwest Wellness Center –the only licensed producer in Taos County– is a state-of-the-art grow and production facility with dispensary branches located here; in Albuquerque,
Santa Fe and Espanola; and with three more under construction.
“Our team of experts cultivate the highest quality medicinal cannabis northern New Mexico has to offer,” said Stephanie Franco, the brand’s ambassador. “Our mission at SWW is to provide our patients access to the best products and service by maintaining consistent variety of the highest
standards at affordable prices.”
First-rate flower is indeed a labor of love – and exacting attention.
Of course it begins in the 35,000 square feet of light deprivation, temperature-controlled greenhouses where, at any given time, there are over 35 varieties of flower in rotation, with 21 or more of them available for purchase in the dispensary.
Every step is precisely managed, from nutrients to soil to light. Grow and harvest technicians oversee canopy management, curing and drying, and trim technicians separate buds from excess that goes to extraction production.
“Our Director of Cultivation, Jeremy Medlock, understands the unique life cycles of the plants, combining horticultural knowledge and artistry to each one,” in what is a seven-daya-week undertaking, said General Manager David Weaver.
SWW is also strenuously regulated by a New Mexico Department of Health-approved laboratory, ensuring both quality and efficacy of its products. “From every five pounds of cultivated flower we send three grams to the lab, who run analyses for mold, toxins, THC potency and cannabinoid content,” Franco noted.
SWW produces an amazing line of in-house manufactured products which include gummies, 100% cold-pressed solventless concentrates, tinctures, topicals and drinks.
“Clearly, our team succeeds in producing and supplying the perfect products to suit all of our patients’ needs, working tirelessly to ensure our dispensaries are stocked with only the
best,” Franco emphasized, including the over 5,000 pre-rolls that are produced in Taos each week.
The business is ever-changing and evolving, Franco said, as are the regulations. New Mexico currently limits production to the yield from 1,750 plants but if recreational use of cannabis is legalized by the state, then SWW is well-positioned to expand its operation without loss of their exceptional variety and quality control.
Barbara Crawford, President and C.E.O. of Southwest Wellness, is one of the few licensed women producing medical cannabis in New Mexico. After extensive research in Israel and Canada, she oversaw the design and construction of the facility and greenhouses, opening the Taos dispensary in 2017 and, in the summer of 2018, taking over exclusive management of the entire operation. Under Crawfrod’s stewardship, SWW has grown to its preeminence in New Mexico as one of the top 5 producers and retailers with over 75 employees on staff.
“We’re proud of our unique presence in Taos,” Crawford said, noting that they are a leader in employment opportunities for local residents. Anyone who is interested in applying should regularly check the website indeed.com, where SWW posts its vacancies, she recommends.
Southwest Wellness Center is located at 1023 Salazar Road, at the corner of Bertha Road, Taos, N.M. 87571. For further information on this and other SWW dispensaries please visit southwestwellnesscenter.com, call (575) 737-8960, or email info@swwtaos.com.