Introducing: Vertical, a Cultivation, Manufacturing, and Dispensary License Winner

Missouri has finally begun distributing medical marijuana licenses, but only 10% of cultivation applicants and 23% of manufacturing applicants received a license. Vertical has received both of these licenses, and has since received a dispensary license as well.

Vertical is dedicated to preserving the environment while both growing and processing high quality, artisanal-style cannabis. We got in touch with CEO Christopher McHugh, and today we are excited to share a little bit more about their plans for bringing environmentally-friendly medicine to the Missouri market. Read on to learn more about what sets Vertical apart from other license winners.

Greenway: Tell us about Vertical

Vertical is a licensed medical marijuana cultivation and infused-product manufacturing company located in St. Joseph, Missouri. Our team is relatively small now, and made up almost entirely of friends and professional colleagues from around the Kansas City and St. Joe area.

Our mission is to cultivate and manufacture the highest quality flower and other marijuana products without the energy ravenous techniques used by other indoor cultivators. 

Greenway: What makes Vertical special?

I think what makes us special is our recognition that there needs to be a balance between energy consumption and production volume, and our willingness to give a little bit on production volume to gain on energy conservation and quality. In other words, if it costs us a little more money to produce a higher quality product and help save the Earth, we are all about that.

Greenway: Tell us about the application process

We were the sixth cultivation to be licensed in the state (License no. CUL000006) and could not be more thrilled. It is such an honor, and we cannot wait to help stand up this industry in Missouri and St. Joe.

I think like most every other applicant, we watched as the application process unfolded through the roll out of regulations, after we already had a plan and most of our team in place. So we had to try and anticipate a lot of aspects. Sometimes we were successful at that. Many times we were not. But we turned our applications in, held our breath, and waited like everyone else. My biggest surprise was how well we scored. There were so many great groups that applied, and I think we were just hoping to make it by the skin of our teeth.

Greenway: What wisdom would you share with someone working on a license application?

First and foremost, I would tell someone just starting the application process to be brutally honest in the application answers about weaknesses in the business plan and team. There isn’t anyone out there that doesn’t have warts. And I think application graders very much appreciate those applicants that are honest about their own blemishes. Actually, I believe many times that can actually gain someone points on an application. On the other hand, the process is not without copious amounts of chance, luck and subjectivity. And while unfair, that fact is important to understand and internalize.

Finally, I believe that persistence in this business pays great dividends, and anyone who really wants to be in the industry can be despite initial setbacks like losing in a competitive license application process.

Greenway: Tell us about what you plan to do with your manufacturing license

We are still in the early stages of selecting the exact products we want to manufacture. But I can say it looks like we will eventually be able to produce products in a really exciting variety of categories including concentrates, live resin, cartridges, beverages, edibles, and topicals.

As to quality control, we are extremely proud of our internal testing and QC equipment, personnel, policies and procedures. For example, on our staff is a food scientist and quality control expert who was a vice president in charge of quality for Nestle.

Greenway: What are you most excited about? 

What am I not excited about? Everything in this industry presents a challenge, which we love. And we cannot wait to build out one of the best medical marijuana facilities in the region and get to work producing great products for the state.