Inside the Craft of Cannabis

Spencer Blier, CEO and founder of cannabis cultivator Mammoth Inc. says Rhode Island’s small-batch cannabis sets it apart from other states. Photography by Angel Tucker

Rhode Island has always been known for its independence, as well as for its homegrown small businesses and independent eateries. 

So it’s no surprise, then, that the state’s burgeoning cannabis cultivating industry is much the same. There are sixty licensed cultivators that grow, package and deliver cannabis to local dispensaries, honing their craft and turning out unique products in a way that neighboring Massachusetts can’t. 

Several multistate operators have set up shop in the Bay State, with large facilities that produce a ton of flower, says Spencer Blier, CEO and founder of cannabis cultivator Mammoth Inc.

“I’d never smoke something like that,” he says. “Here, the prices are the same as in Massachusetts and the weed’s a lot better. Rhode Island’s always been about craft and local products, and the same thing applies to the cannabis industry. It sets us apart.”

Mammoth’s general manager, Jon Connors. Photography by Angel Tucker

Joe Pakuris, CEO of Mother Earth Wellness, agrees. 

“Rhode Island has a craft market,” he says. “There are sixty small, local craft cultivators here in Rhode Island, all under 10,000 square feet of canopy. In Massachusetts, you have 100,000-square-foot facilities with acres of outdoor cannabis.”

Ocean State cultivators put so much care and quality into growing their product and finding the right strains, he says. 

“Just like we have excellent restaurants and excellent breweries,” he says, “we have the best cannabis in New England.”

Photography by Angel Tucker