Golden State Herb looks to bring cannabis clones to Shasta Lake

In Shasta Lake, Crystal Keesey of Golden State Herb Inc. believes she has found a community that has embraced the marijuana industry and is serious about helping entrepreneurs like herself make a market in it.

Already permitted to grow cannabis clones on property just west of the railroad tracks on Shasta Dam Boulevard, Golden State Herb Inc. seeks a use permit to distribute its product to other marijuana-licensed businesses in Shasta Lake and elsewhere.

Golden State Herb’s use permit application was tabled to Thursday’s planning commission meeting after first showing up on the Feb. 15 agenda.

Cannabis clones are produced by taking a cutting from a plant before it flowers and re-planting it in soil or compost. It’s a way to produce a twin of a favorite cannabis plant — a truer strain than planting from seed.

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“You get proven performance,” Keesey said. “So if you have had a really fantastically big (producer) and want to grow the same strain the following year, before they flower, take a cutting and root it.”

Keesey and her business and "life partner", Andrew Greer, have backgrounds in botany, site development and marijuana cultivation. They live in Chico and have spent the last few years looking for a cannabis-friendly community to grow their operation.

“We’ve kind of been running around Northern California for the last three years, putting a lot of miles on our vehicles,” Keesey said.

They would do business in Shasta Lake under the name Mothership Seeds and Starts. The address where they want to operate is 3837 Shasta Dam Blvd., a salmon-colored building across the street from The Fishen Hole.

Farhad Mortazavi, Shasta Lake’s development services director, said the building most recently was a retail store called Home & Holiday.

While the project is on Thursday’s agenda, Mortazavi said there’s a good chance it will be tabled again as his staff continues to work on the proposal to present to commissioners.

“They have the permit for the nursery part. However, for the same location, same building, based on regulation, they have to apply for a use permit in order to obtain the distribution part of it,” Mortazavi said.

More: Recreational pot sales to begin in Shasta County

Eventually, Keesey and Greer want to open a retail nursery at the Shasta Dam Boulevard site to serve home-growers. It is legal in California for households to grow up to six plants.

Jamie Garzot, who owns 530 Cannabis in Shasta Lake, said she carries Golden State Herb’s dry bud in her store.

“We’ve carried that for quite some time and we continue to work with them on that product,” Garzot said.

Another cannabis business also is on Thursday’s Planning Commission agenda.

KO Cannabis wants to operate a cultivation business at 2012 Cascade Blvd. where an auto body business once operated.

The project’s use permit application also was tabled from the Feb. 15 meeting.

KO Cannabis CEO Shannon Miller has said the business would grow about 250 plants and distribute cannabis to retail outlets in Shasta Lake and other parts of California.