Innovation

Currently, there are 21 qualifying medical conditions that can be treated with Medical Marijuana in the state of Ohio. As that list continues to grow, so will the demand for medical marijuana. Buckeye Relief is positioning their company to meet the growing demand for medical marijuana among patients and the medical community. Due to the highly regulated nature of marijuana cultivation, the quality management system established by Buckeye Relief will be critical for their overall success and compliance.

BR has ingrained sustainability and environmental stewardship into their company culture. BR currently reclaims and recycles the majority of the water used in their production facility to help reduce their consumption of water. In doing so, they are able to save 60% of the water that would otherwise go to waste in the cultivation of marijuana plants. They are also an all LED facility that runs on 750 watt fixtures (opposed to 1200 watt). By incorporating LED lighting into their facility, they've been able to cut their electrical use by 45%. As Buckeye Relief pursues their first harvest of medical marijuana, they plan to identify other sustainability projects.

The capability of their quality and diagnostics lab makes their operation very efficient. The Buckeye Relief cultivation team knows exactly how much fertilizer, water and lighting each plant needs to prepare for their upcoming harvest. Their quality management system and use of metrics is a key difference maker between Buckeye Relief and many other cultivation facilities. Buckeye Relief and their extensive quality processes will allow them to track the growth of each plant to optimize their products and identity key measures for success.

Inspiration

Scott Halloran and Andy Rayburn spent a lot of time talking with individuals who needed the support of medical marijuana to help with illnesses. Many of these people use marijuana as a treatment solution for their diseases and illnesses. The overall consensus, according to Scott, is that there are "a lot of people out there that prefer marijuana" as a treatment solution. During our interview, Scott stated that "when you see all of the people that are out there that need this and what we are doing here at the plant, it's truly moving".

Scott also talked about how recently they hired an employee that was diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions. Many of the people that work at BR have friends and family outside of the company that have treatable conditions and are waiting for this medical solution. Leslie Brandon from BR went on to say that "everyone that works here believes in the medicine" and the positive impact that it can have on the treatment side. During their employee hiring process, Leslie mentioned the one requirement of every Buckeye employee is the belief in marijuana as a medicine. The emergence of marijuana as a medicine is still a growing concept, but patient studies and data-rich science have proven this medicine as a great alternative method of treatment for individuals with certain diseases and illnesses.

Overall impact

The State of Ohio allows medical marijuana to treat up to 21 qualifying conditions. Some of these conditions include major diseases such as Aids/HIV, Alzheimers, cancer, crohns. In the last 12 months, a number of periodicals have published articles detailing the positive effects that marijuana has had with treating various illnesses, including Post Traumatic stress disorder. Currently, veterans that return from their tours of duty frequently suffer from PTSD and the only treatment options available (outside of psychiatric consultation) include prescription medicine or often self medication.

For the first time ever, the FDA approved a study of marijuana as a treatment solution for veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Leslie said that positive results of this study would be a "huge step forward" for PTSD treatment and the cannabis industry. The 21 conditions approved by the State of Ohio for medical marijuana as a viable treatment option will continue to grow as more scientific studies focus on the power of marijuana as medicine.

Business benefit

As mentioned before, all the Buckeye Relief employees believe in the medicine that they are producing and the good it will do for a large of number of people in need. As a result, the culture at BR is contagious because everyone believes in what they are doing. The company built a $10 million facility to support the growth of their business and this substantial investment is a testament to the strength of this industry among other US states and Canada. From a business perspective, they knew that building a completely new facility from the ground up would position them for success. They studied the marijuana industry and determined the size and scale of the operation that was required to meet demands. Buckeye Relief has obtained a strong foothold in the industry compared to their competition and will be the first large scale cultivator to harvest marijuana in the state of Ohio.

Social and environmental benefit

As diseases and illnesses become more common and patients search alternative treatment methods, the list of qualifying diseases treatable via marijuana will continue to grow. The medical community sees value in medical marijuana as a treatment solution and applicable conditions for medical marijuana will emerge as the industry ages. While projections for the number of medical marijuana patients remain unknown, Buckeye Relief has the potential to improve thousands of lives in Ohio through their products.

Buckeye Relief' state of the art marijuana cultivation facility will greatly impact Ohio and the Eastlake community. Getting an early foot in the door on such an opportunistic industry allows a lot of room for growth. Buckeye Relief believes their workforce will be between 50-60 individuals at full capacity and plans to hire numerous Eastlake residents to support the local economy. During the development of our paper, Leslie coordinated a statement from the Mayor of Eastlake related to Buckeye Relief’s impact on their community. “The City of Eastlake has sold land to Buckeye Relief for $300,000 we will receive 2% income tax from each employee and will collect property taxes that haven’t been collected for over 15 years due to the city owning the property. Buckeye has and will bring more jobs to the city in the future and are glad they picked Eastlake to call home. Buckeye has made that piece of property a showcase with the facility they built,” said Mayor Dennis Morely via statement. Buckeye Relief's impact is already being felt in their community and as the industry grows, so will Buckeye's ability to make a significant impact on Northeast Ohio.

Interviews

Scott Halloran, Co-Founder & COO

Leslie Brandon, Director of Engagement & Communications