Buckeye Relief | buckeyerelief.com

The first time Marc London received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, there was only one response he deemed appropriate.

“Thank you,” said London, the executive chef at Buckeye Relief, a medical cannabis cultivator and processor in Eastlake, Ohio, about 15 miles northeast of Cleveland, where he and Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo carefully craft infused foods with a focus on taste and effectiveness. Their line of edibles includes chocolates; locally sourced honey; Wana gummies; and Keef Brands, an infused beverage available in lemonade and strawberry kiwi.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief, which has a 25,000-square-foot indoor grow facility that became operational in July 2018, launched its kitchen operation shortly after getting an extraction license in the spring of 2019. While Ohio legalized medical cannabis in 2016, statewide sales didn’t begin until early 2019.

An executive chef by trade, London always worked with chocolate when he owned a prepared-foods store and a catering business in the mid-80s, he said. Since London believes chocolate is one of the most complex food products on the planet to work with, he made it his mission to search high and low for the best commodity on the globe to infuse, he said.

Buckeye Relief co-founders Andy Rayburn, CEO, and Scott Halloran, chief operating officer, began the planning phases of their company in 2016, shortly before Ohio’s passage of medical cannabis House Bill 523—two years before Buckeye Relief became operational—which provided London ample time to track down the right chocolate for the operation.

“I was even down in Ecuador looking at chocolates down there, because I think Ecuador is one of the best producers of chocolate in the world, even though most of our chocolate comes from South Africa,” London said. “And I just happened to be in Ecuador, so … I just started doing some research down there and brought some back here.”

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

While his prospects from Ecuador showed promise, London and his team at Buckeye Relief eventually decided on a Belgian chocolate to infuse in their kitchen. They now offer a 72% cacao dark chocolate, a smooth and creamy milk chocolate and a 1-to-1 ratio marble chocolate, as well as seasonal flavors, like a white-minted chocolate with sprinkles during December holidays.

Key to Buckeye Relief’s line of infused foods is the kitchen’s focus on producing edibles that don’t have the flowery or grassy taste of the cannabis plant, and that goes for all of the edibles, not just the chocolate, London said. “I wanted products that tasted just like the ingredients that went into it with the exception of the extraction ingredients,” he said.

In turn, London steered clear from compound chocolate, which can be melted down and deposited into molds without being tempered, and put his attention on “real” chocolate, which requires the breaking down of fats and waxes before being tempered back to its original state with the cannabis extract infused, he said. The end product retrieves a nice, glossy finish, he said.

“When you look at really good chocolate, you’re like, ‘Wow, that is beautiful,’” London said.

He and his team—which, along with Rollo, also includes Assistant Kitchen Manager Ryan Fatica and kitchen techs Lupe Rivera and Ricardo Yepez—were not just after an infused chocolate that had good health benefits, but a product that both presented itself well and had great taste, he said.

So, when Buckeye Relief Communications and Marketing Director Leslie Brandon notified London that she received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, specifically regarding how one consumer “could not taste the cannabis” in the product, there was only one response he deemed appropriate: “Thank you.”

“And that’s literally happened numerous times where I’ll get emails from Leslie, ‘Marc, we just got a complaint. They can’t taste anything in the chocolate,’” London said. “And the first time she ever sent that to me, I just emailed her back, ‘OK, I’m going to take that as the ultimate compliment, because that’s what I set out to achieve from day one.’”

London also attributed the taste of Buckeye Relief’s chocolate to the extraction team’s understanding of how to process a cleaner and redefined end product from the plant to infuse into the edibles, he said.

Planting Their Roots

Still in its infancy, Ohio’s medical cannabis program has more than 176,000 registered patients as of Feb. 28, 2021, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. On the retail front, Ohio averaged $5.7 million in total product sales per week through the first 10 weeks of 2021, compared to an average of $2.5 million per week during the same timeframe in 2020, according to the control program.

But London and Rollo’s connection to cannabis and to the kitchen extends beyond Buckeye Relief. Friends with Rayburn for more than 30 years, London’s first customer for his catering business in the ‘80s was Rayburn’s ex-wife, he said.

“That’s how I met Andy, and what bonded us was our love of music, live music, and our love for sports,” London said. “I’ve seen over 250 [Grateful] Dead shows in my life. A hundred of them were probably with Andy. And we haven’t stopped yet. So, when we had that jam-band connection, that carried us through all these years. We’ve gone all over the place. It’s great.”

On Dec. 5, 2018, the night before Buckeye Relief’s first harvest and the plants’ last night in the flower room, Rayburn gave the crop a special treatment. He played the Grateful Dead’s legendary 1977 concert at Cornell University’s Barton Hall over the PA system, making sure the plants had a “good last evening,” Rayburn said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Buckeye Relief’s First Harvest in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Market

After his prepared-foods store and catering business, which he transitioned into a smoothie juice bar operation, London went on to extend his expertise in the publishing industry, where he built a Cleveland-based magazine called Fine Lifestyles that shared editorial about the people, cultures and businesses that make up Northeast Ohio.

London said he’d still be running that magazine if it were not for Rayburn.

“I’d still be in that business if Mr. Andy Rayburn hadn’t said, ‘Marc, I think I’m going into the cannabis business,’” London said. “And I heard that and said, ‘OK, well, if he’s going in the cannabis business, then I’m going into the cannabis business—just let me know when and where.”

Once Buckeye Relief built its facility and started its grow, it was just a matter of time before the company received its extraction license and opened a kitchen for infused foods. Until then, London sometimes helped out in other facets of the operation, including trimming plants. That’s where he first crossed paths with Rollo.

Intern to Kitchen Manager

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Rollo first started working at Buckeye Relief as an intern in the trim department in 2018, an entry-level, yet important phase of cannabis cultivation.

Working in the restaurant industry for five years to help put herself through college, Rollo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and earned a certificate in non-profit leadership, before starting a short career in the advertising industry, where she worked sales and marketing.

During that time, Rollo had a grandmother who struggled with opioids and being able to control her doses, she said. That was around the same time Ohio passed its medical cannabis bill, which sparked Rollo’s interest in researching related opportunities before networking and eventually getting her foot in the door at Buckeye Relief, she said.

“I came from working in the advertising industry, which I really loved my job,” Rollo said. “I really enjoyed it. But I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, you know, I wanted to help people and I wanted to feel like I had that purpose.”

Once in the door, Rollo’s journey shifted toward making herself standout among 30-some interns in the trim department, she said.

“I had to create a system for myself and a strategy for myself to kind of set myself apart and start networking with people,” Rollo said. “I spotted Marc in the trim room and just started talking to him, chatting with him. Over conversation, I was able to figure out his history—I didn’t know at that point that he was in charge of the kitchen. I didn’t know at that point that he was hired in. I just knew that he was back there helping us trim.”

Diving deeper into conversation with London and picking his brain about his expertise and his soon-to-be kitchen operation, Rollo quickly went from intern to kitchen manager in roughly a year. Through her desire to be on a team that provides edibles for patients in Ohio, Rollo travelled out to Colorado with London in July 2019 to train under experts from Wana Brands, a U.S. leading infused-products company known for its gummies.

Gummy Trends

Shelby | Adobe Stock

According to cannabis market research expert BDSA, a consumer insights data report from September 2020 revealed that infused gummies made up 84% of candy ingestible sales at that point in the year across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. In addition, 60% of U.S. edible users reported consumption of infused gummies, while baked goods were the second most popular ingestible product at 46%. And 33% of U.S. ingestible consumers cited gummies as their preferred type of edible, with a 15-point margin over baked goods as the next most popular preferred ingestible product.

“Seeing how the sales trends go, as legalization spreads throughout the United States, I saw this big opportunity that this is going to be the future of the industry,” Rollo said. “This is going to be the future of dosing. People, especially the older generations, love how convenient it is. You don’t have to smoke it. It’s something you can keep in your pocket and dose throughout the day. So that is kind of what really, really sparked my interest in that part of the industry, [where] I really saw myself thriving.”

After their weeklong training with Wana in Colorado, Rollo and London received additional hands-on instruction from Wana experts, who flew out to Ohio for detailed recipe explanations at Buckeye Relief.

And in order to meet testing standards in Ohio, Rollo said she and the Buckeye Relief team fine-tuned their gummy trials for maybe six to nine months before finally dialing in their operation. Now, a team of three to four people in the kitchen can produce anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 gummies in a typical day, Rollo said.

In order to be more efficient, the kitchen team sometimes operates in longer shifts, working from Monday through Thursday, so that it only has to go through the time-consuming processes of setting up and cleaning up four times in a week rather than five times, Rollo said.

“I am extremely passionate in every single batch that I make, you know, my passion shows through it,” she said. “So definitely the gummies [are my passion], cause it’s kind of in my heart and soul from the beginning. I kind of had to go through a lot of testing issues, you know, to kind of get that formulation correct on it for probably six to nine months until we really dialed it in. So, yeah, it’s been a journey.”

The Buckeye Relief kitchen team produces several different cannabidiol (CBD)-to-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ratios in gummies. For example, there’s a five-to-one pomegranate blueberry acai gummy that has 25 milligrams of CBD to 5 milligrams of THC, which is popular among people who haven’t tried edibles before and are interested in the micro-dosing market, Rollo said. And then there are strawberry lemonade and watermelon flavors that include a one-to-one ratio of 10 milligrams of CBD to 10 milligrams of THC, while more exotic flavors, like yuzu, offer a two-to-one ratio.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Relief also produces gummies that are straight THC, including 10-milligram pieces as well as a new macro line of 30-milligram gummies in raspberry-limeade and blood orange flavors, which are for the more experienced consumers, Rollo said.

The specific flavors come from proprietary blends of terpenes—aromatic compounds found in many plants, including cannabis—that are picked out by Wana, Rollo said. In addition to flavoring, terpenes also provide different effects, she said.

“So, the mango is more of the sativa, which has the uplifting effects,” she said. “Indica more for the asleep. And hybrid obviously for a little bit of both.”

Attention is in the Details

When it comes to creating products that not only land on the shelves at dispensaries, but also stay on those shelves, Rollo and London both said their efforts boil down to running a detail-oriented operation.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

“We operate exactly like any other [non-cannabis] medical facility in the state of Ohio,” Rollo said. “We want to make sure that we have a professional representation of how we operate. We’re trying to prove ourselves in some ways, showing that we are this legitimate business, and this is a medicine that helps people.”

On the edibles side of the industry, London said his team treats infused foods like artisanal products. For example, one batch will generate 700 gummies—only a fraction of a daily production. But rather than use a bigger cooking pot, the team at Buckeye Relief controls the quality of each gummy by simply producing more batches, London said. The same dialed-in concept applies to chocolates, he said.

“I could take a giant chocolate tank of 200 gallons of chocolate and fuse the whole thing and then start pumping it out,” he said. “I am not going to end up controlling the quality or the potency the way I can in a 15-pound run.”

Each 15-pound run will produce about 120 bars of chocolate, London said. If market demand increased beyond Buckeye Relief’s current output, then the best avenue to scale up production and maintain the quality of the brand would be to train more staff to handle more runs, he said.

Another factor pertaining to chocolate, especially the volatility of milk chocolate, is humidity, which can create a bloom, or a white, shadowy appearance that puts an eyesore on the presentation to each bar, London said.

“Up until this past summer, when I put new dehumidifiers in here, I had to produce a lot of my milk chocolate in the springtime,” he said. “There’s just too much moisture in the [summer] air. You can’t get it to cool down properly and harden properly. So, it really, it’s not as much what we produce on a daily/weekly basis, but it’s how do we control it so we can put out the highest quality year-round.”

Buckeye Relief also has a brand of locally sourced raw honey that is harvested using natural methods and then infused with a little extra buzz. While the company has its own beehives, it doesn’t have enough to keep up with demand. In turn, Buckeye Relief connected with a local beekeeper from Bainbridge Township, in neighboring Geauga County, who provides a few hundred gallons of honey any time the kitchen needs it, London said.

And then Buckeye Relief’s line of Keef—a brand in the cannabis beverage space that was originally launched in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado—includes a strawberry kiwi beverage that tastes similar to flavored water and a lemonade that tastes like a powdered-beverage mix, London said.

“I think the market is going to really, really enjoy it,” he said. “If I was making that beverage and when you drank it you were like, ‘Oh my, god. What’s that bitter, nasty plant taste?’ we would never have that product here at Buckeye Relief.

“One of the things is, we have worked really, really hard for shelf space at dispensaries. So, our commitment is, we worked so hard to get it, we can’t lose that shelf space, which means we need to be able to duplicate and produce enough to never run out. And some products just aren’t designed for that.”

LAS VEGAS, NV – April 6, 2021 - Cannabis Business Times, the leading B2B publication dedicated to the cultivator/grower segment of the cannabis industry, and Cannabis Conference, the leading educational event and expo for professionals at plant-touching cannabis businesses, is pleased to announce the launch of its inaugural Cannabis Leadership Awards (C-LAS).

With the support of FOHSE – Future of Horticultural Science + Engineering, the C-LAS will recognize five cannabis industry professionals who exemplify the leadership qualities needed to inspire and empower those around them and who work toward the betterment of the entire industry.

Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will have made significant contributions to the cannabis industry, such as:

• Contributing to the industry’s advancement through their innovation and expertise;
• Enhancing the lives of employees, customers, communities and the industry at large through their leadership, generosity, charitable giving;
• Excelling in environmental stewardship;
• Working with legislators and regulators in crafting and updating cannabis laws and regulations in a productive way; and/or
• Otherwise making a positive impact on the industry.

Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will be recognized at a special awards reception at the Cannabis Conference 2021 (Aug. 24-26 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino) and featured in Cannabis Business Times magazine.

“We are thrilled to launch the Cannabis Leadership Awards,” Noelle Skodzinski, editorial director for GIE Media’s Cannabis Group said. “Many awards recognize corporate achievements, but we want to celebrate truly amazing people in the cannabis industry—those who inspire others and have a positive impact on their colleagues, the cannabis industry and the world around them.”

Cannabis Group Publisher Jim Gilbride said, “In any industry, there are people who just stand out as exceptional in all they do. People who make the workday better for their colleagues and make their communities and the industry better by their actions. They deserve to be recognized, and we are pleased to launch the Cannabis Leadership Awards to give those leaders in the cannabis industry the recognition they deserve.”

James Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer, FOHSE – Future of Horticultural Science + Engineering, added, “As the cannabis industry solidifies its foothold in regions around the world, I believe it's crucial to laude those who are truly raising the bar. The industry continues to face an uphill battle with some of the cultural stigmas surrounding it, which is a big reason why FOHSE has partnered with Cannabis Business Times and their annual Cannabis Leadership Awards ceremony. This is a prime opportunity to elevate the best of the best as a beacon for all entrepreneurs, as well as to show the world how the industry is maturing.”

The Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will be professionals who work at cannabis cultivation and/or vertically integrated dispensary businesses (with cultivation and retail operations) in North America.  

Nominees to the C-LAS must be employed by and involved in an operation that has an active licensed cannabis cultivation or vertically integrated (cultivation and retail) operation in North America.

The deadline for nominations is May 20, 2021. Nominations for the Cannabis Leadership Awards may be submitted at: www.cannabisconference.com/form/CannabisLeadershipAwards.

About Cannabis Conference
Cannabis Conference 2021, presented by Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary, and Hemp Grower, is the leading educational provider for plant-touching businesses in the legal cannabis and hemp markets. The three-day event will be held at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on August 24-26, 2021.

The Cannabis Conference exhibition hall will feature industry-leading technologies, solutions and services for the professional cannabis cultivator and retail businesses.

For more information, visit www.cannabisconference.com.

Oakton Community College | oakton.edu

(Pictured: L-R) Katherine Sawyer, Oakton Community College chief advancement officer; Joianne L. Smith, Ph.D., Oakton Community College president; Brian Baker, Hatch vice president of operations; Gary Leff, Hatch president; and Eric Fisher, Hatch chief financial officer on April 5 at Hatch's Wheeling dispensary.    

DES PLAINES, Ill., April 5, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Students enrolled in Oakton Community College’s cannabis education programs will benefit from a generous donation from Hatch, a cannabis dispensary with two locations in Illinois.

Hatch donated $100,000 to the Oakton Educational Foundation to create the Hatch Social Equity Opportunity Scholarship. Scholarship award priority will be given to students with financial need or who have been adversely affected by previous cannabis laws. Hatch and Oakton marked the occasion with a ceremonial check presentation during the grand opening of Hatch’s newest dispensary in Wheeling on April 5. 

The scholarship will support Oakton students enrolled in the college’s Cannabis Dispensary and Patient Care Specialist program by providing resources for tuition, books and fees. Additionally, the gift is expected to provide internship opportunities at Hatch for qualified students interested in learning how to operate a dispensary and applying for a dispensary license in the future. 

“Hatch’s support for our students seeking employment in the emerging cannabis industry will be life-changing,” said Oakton President Joianne L. Smith, Ph.D. “We are grateful to partner with Hatch and privileged for their recognition of Oakton as a leader in cannabis education.”

Hatch President Gary Leff said, “We’re thrilled to support qualified social equity students interested in a career in cannabis and perhaps applying for their own dispensary license in the future. We’re proud to be partnering with Oakton given its status as a leader in cannabis education and its commitment to helping to build a trained cannabis workforce.”  

In 2019, Oakton launched the Cannabis Dispensary and Patient Care Specialist Certificate—Illinois’ first community college health communications program focusing on medical cannabis. In 2020, Oakton added the Cannabis Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management Certificate—further expanding the training available for students interested in obtaining jobs in the growing industry. More than 300 students have enrolled in cannabis education programs and the college has awarded more than 70 credentials.

Pending approval, Oakton will introduce a Cannabis Cultivation Certificate in spring 2022, including hands-on learning in Oakton’s new cannabis program cultivation lab.

For more information about cannabis education at Oakton, contact cannabisprograms@oakton.edu.

P.L. Light Systems | pllight.com

BEAMSVILLE, Ontario, April 5, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – P.L. Light Systems has reached an exciting milestone, as the company celebrates 40 years of delivering professional grow-light systems to the horticultural industry. The company distributes products across Canada, the U.S. and South America from its manufacturing facility in Beamsville, Ontario, Canada—which is also the base for the company’s team of passionate and experienced professionals. Throughout the company’s 40 years, its philosophy has remained unchanged—to deliver innovative, reliable horticultural lighting solutions that result in optimal lighting performance and maximized yields for growers. The company’s commitment to these goals, along with strong customer loyalty, has helped it achieve long-standing success as one of the leading horticultural lighting manufacturers. 

P.L. Light Systems has been operating since 1981, when it first opened the doors of its Canadian office as the North American division of Poot Lichtenergie B.V. – servicing both the North American and South American markets. As one of the original pioneers in horticultural lighting, Poot Lichtenergie first began producing horticultural lighting systems in the Netherlands in 1977. Today the company remains privately owned by a Canadian investor in the horticultural industry.

“In this day and age, it is not frequent that companies are able to adapt and change their business models, to be able to continue serving the customers and industry that they started in over 40 years later,” President Todd Philips said. “Things have changed dramatically in the past 40 years in the horticultural industry, but one thing that hasn’t changed is P.L. Light Systems’ dedication to providing their customers industry-leading supplemental lighting solutions, and top-level local manufacturing, service and support in the North and South American markets. Our team of passionate, dedicated, caring professionals have been here for our customers for the past 40 years, and are committed to constantly reinventing ourselves, our products, and our service levels to ensure we have the opportunity to serve our customers, old and new, for another 40 years and beyond.”

P.L. Light Systems reputation as “The Lighting Knowledge Company” sets it apart from other competitors in the controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) industry, by providing superior knowledge and expertise, based on the unique requirements for each project. The company also largely credits its success and reputation to the enduring relationships with its customers, partners and team members.

This year, in appreciation of its customers’ ongoing support over the years, P.L. Light Systems will be offering special anniversary promotional offers through the end of 2021. Please contact your regional sales manager to find out more information. For more information on P.L. Light Systems please visit www.pllight.com or email info@pllight.com.