Have you ever imagined what it would be like to visit a company that produces from the flower to the final extract, legally in Colorado? Girls in Green visited OLIO who welcomed us with open arms and showed us their entire production line!
We have always heard the most amazing things about Colorado, the beautiful skies, the vigorous mountains at the back of the cities and of course, the best Hash Rosin in the USA. On our last trip together in 2018, we went road tripping from LA to Denver with the sole purpose of arriving in Denver to experiment what we have only seen in Instagram pictures while visiting some of the most beautiful National Parks in America.
Arriving in Denver
Denver was our final and most wanted destination. Can you all imagine how does it feel to come from a super prohibitionist country and arrive in a place where you can buy all this amazing cannabis products as a tourist? Our first stop, of course, was at a dispensary to buy some white smelly hash rosin that must have been some of the most mind blowing experiences of our lives, literally.
We went to Lightshade, a famous dispensary in the area that operates with high technology and beautiful, clean spaces. For those of you who love shopping and the cannabis culture, entering into a dispensary in Colorado is like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time.
Getting to know a legal cannabis company
Girls in Green started only with an Instagram account with the intention of connecting with other people that share the same passion as we do. It was through social media that we met Ryan, such a talented Hashmaker, who is the head of Rosin for OLIO, and with whom we chatted so foundly due to his genuine interest in our project and disposition to answer so many of our questions.
Our next day in Denver was the D day. It was time for us to visit a legal cannabis company in the United States, we were beyond excited and we were also big fans before we even met all of them in person. Olio is made by an amazing team of wonderful hashmakers that have been focusing on terpene preservations and unique flavors since 2012. Everything is produced on the company’s facility, rom germinating seeds, growing the plants to the final hash products (Bubble Hash, Hash Rosin, Olio pens and BHO). An amazing single source experience.
At the time, Ryan told us that Olio had something like 20 employees that worked between the grow and the lab, with each one of them being responsible for their area of expertise. We first went visiting the grow rooms, which are separated from the lab to guarantee no contamination between processes, such as fertilizers and other composts that must not be in any kind of contact with the final product.
They had approximately 500 plants that were licensed on the Medical side were harvested in parts every two to three weeks. At the time they didn’t have a license for a Recreational grow so they bought it from trustworthy suppliers. In Colorado the law has been evolving in the last few years and so has been the control metrics. We were able to see the steps required by the government, where everything must be documented, from seed to harvest and then from bud to sale, with every step.
This kind of requirement is something that has been troubling small producers since all regulation has started, who was once used to working in a more artisanal way, has now to adapt to complex systems and quality checks. At one of the rooms, a grower was actually separating buds as samples that would be sent to the union for quality checks. They will only be sold once they are approved, which happens 99% of the time.
After this amazing grow lecture, it was time to enter the chilli chambers of extractions. Each one has a different room and a different person responsible for the process. Although they do not often sell bubble hash, they do have someone who is responsible for it, because it is the primary material for the beautiful rosins that Ryan will press next.
The office is close to the extraction and pressing rooms, where all the labeling, packaging and administration is managed. We were able to transit there a bit, only to experience what we would love as dream job environment, people were all working at their stations, talking and laughing while enjoying their work with this beautiful plant.
Unfortunately that day we were not able to press some Rosin, but we were able to check out some new innovations into different textures. It was the first time we had seen solventless THC-A crystals and we were beyond impressed with the quality of the products of Olio.
Legalization impacts around the world
It is an incredible experience to be able to visit other countries and drug policy realities and understand how the legal market works after the legalization. Experiencing Colorado makes us dream awake about the legalization day in Brazil, and also guides the way for different kinds of regulations in other countries.
Thank you Olio for receiving us with open doors and for allowing the release of this information in a media vehicle focused on the Brazilian public. It is such an inspiring experience to see people working with love and respect with the cannabis plant. More information and experiences like this are to be written, so keep updated on the new contents that will come up at here!