WholesomeCo is about to harvest its first outdoor grow.
The cannabis plants, spread out over two acres in remote Tooele County, are looking healthy and hearty.
“It allows us to reduce prices, increase the product selection and as a cannabis program here in Utah? We are growing up,” said Alex Iorg, one of WholesomeCo’s founders.
Utah’s medical cannabis program is settling in nearly five years since it launched after voters approved Proposition 2, which legalized it in the state . ( The Utah State Legislature overrode Prop. 2 with its own highly-regulated program .) Medical cannabis companies have said they are seeing growth and success. Iorg, who worked on the Prop. 2 campaign, said roughly 80,000 people are considered medical cannabis patients in Utah. But local companies say their biggest competitor is still the black market.
“About 60% of the products in our state are being purchased outside the legal medical cannabis program,” Iorg said. “That means they’re traveling to the borders or they’re getting it from the illicit market.”