CANNABIS CULTURE – The Institute for Medical Cannabis Corporation (IMC Corp), Ponce Puerto Rico is the island’s first certified green organic large-scale grow house.

This 25 acre facility is divided from a larger 1,200 acre farm, located on a private compound in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The location is ideal due to the sunny and dry weather with access to significant water resources. We had the pleasure of interviewing Tamara Gonzalez, Shareholder and Sales Director of the Institute for Medical Cannabis (IMC) Corporation.

She took us on a tour of their immense facility and met with their very professional and knowledgeable team. They’ve partnered with industry leaders to create state-of-the-art agriculture system. The operation is designed to withstand hurricane wind, control temperature and humidity, and maximize Puerto Rico’s natural sunlight.

On display were some of their most famous products from their manufacturing line, TuMedicina. Their manufacturing line includes edibles, flowers and concentrates. Their flowers are all domestically and naturally grown which is then distributed to all the dispensaries around the island.

“We are very proud to be the first cultivation plant in the Caribbean that has been certified Clean Green” states Tamara. Their cannabis cultivation facility counts with the Clean Green certification. The Clean Green program is a nationwide certifier since 2004 for cannabis cultivated using sustainable, natural and organically based practices. Legally, marijuana cannot be called organic, no matter how environmentally friendly the cultivation practices used to grow it, due to the term being federally regulated and the USDA does not recognize cannabis as a legitimate agricultural crop. The Clean Green program was created as a way to regulate legal cannabis-products that called themselves “organic”. This means their cultivation and manufactured products they distribute are totally free of chemicals and pesticides.

We asked Tamara about her current challenges and goals, she replied, “since the industry is young, the only real competition right now is to continue to challenge and improve ourselves, be it in the quality of their products or acquiring personnel who are as driven, passionate and ambitious”. Tamara indicates the biggest gratification has been to be able to help and improvement of the health of the patients that consume their products. “Patients tell me their stories of how our products have improved their conditions”, she states. As of this moment the company’s current goal is to keep growing and expanding their lines of products.

Tamara’s advice for the industry is to “be more inclusive in the workplace and include more women in this business”. Now more than ever the women’s movement within the industry is being felt. Women continue to take charge in the industry as shareholders, activists, dispensary owners and are elevating the environmentally green cannabis movement in Puerto Rico.

