OUR MISSION
SPARC exists to be a positive, guiding light for our industry, communities, patients and customers.
OUR PROMISE
SPARC is a long-trusted source for the highest quality cannabis. SPARC began in 1998 as a trailblazer in medical cannabis, and today continues to originate and propagate many of the industry’s most rigorous quality-control practices. For those who benefit from medical cannabis and those who responsibly enjoy adult-use cannabis, SPARC is committed to advancing the standards of how cannabis is cultivated, packaged and retailed industry-wide, and being a force for good in the neighborhoods and communities we call home.
THE HISTORY OF SPARC
- 1998
- SPARC’s roots began early in cannabis regulation, reaching as far back as 1998 when CA Proposition 215 was passed, making medical cannabis available to those with a doctor’s recommendation.
- 2010
- After years of growing and distributing with our collective, the first SPARC retail facility opened in 2010 at 1256 Mission Street in San Francisco.
- 2015
- In 2015, SPARC merged with Peace in Medicine, a highly respected industry peer with two retail facilities in Sonoma County, and in 2016 SPARC opened our newest retail facility in San Francisco’s historic Lower Haight neighborhood.
- 2015
- In 2015, SPARC merged with Peace in Medicine, a highly respected industry peer with two retail facilities in Sonoma County, and in 2016 SPARC opened our newest retail facility in San Francisco’s historic Lower Haight neighborhood.
- 2015
- In 2015, SPARC merged with Peace in Medicine, a highly respected industry peer with two retail facilities in Sonoma County, and in 2016 SPARC opened our newest retail facility in San Francisco’s historic Lower Haight neighborhood.
- 2015
- In 2015, SPARC merged with Peace in Medicine, a highly respected industry peer with two retail facilities in Sonoma County, and in 2016 SPARC opened our newest retail facility in San Francisco’s historic Lower Haight neighborhood.
THE SPARC STORY
With more than two decades in California cannabis, SPARC is a visionary company rooted in humble beginnings
PLANTING THE SEEDS OF A MOVEMENT
California becomes the first state to legalize medical cannabis
With 56% votes in favor, California passed Proposition 215 (the Compassionate Use Act) allowing the use of medical cannabis in the State despite the Federal cannabis policy.
Erich Pearson, SPARC’s founder, moves to California to grow cannabis
After graduating from Purdue University, Erich moved west to California. As he said in an interview in 2018, “From the time I was in middle school in Indiana, I had a landscape business and mowed lawns. I grew marijuana, too, though my mother threw away my first crop. Now she says, ‘You’ve gone from cutting grass to growing grass.’”
Erich starts the cannabis collective that would later become SPARC
Erich co-founded the San Francisco Cannabis Collective with a vision to fill the needs of low income qualified patients whose doctors had prescribed medical cannabis to address serious illnesses. The collective collaborated with local hospices, residential care facilities, and other dispensaries to supply medical cannabis at no cost to seriously ill patients — a tradition SPARC continues to this day.
PUTTING DOWN STRONG ROOTS
The first SPARC store opens in San Francisco
The San Francisco Patient and Resource Center (SPARC) opened its doors in San Francisco. As a non-profit, the dispensary’s mission was to provide safe, consistent, and affordable medical cannabis to patients in the Bay Area.
With its sleek design, the store was immediately hailed as the “Apple Store of Marijuana” by Fast Company. In 2011 it won the interior design award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
SPARC becomes the first official NCIA member
With a $5,000 check, SPARC becomes the first official member of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the leading organization advocating for a responsible cannabis industry. SPARC’s founder, Erich Pearson, has always been a firm believer of working with government and community organizations to advance fair and just cannabis policies. He proudly served on the NCIA board from 2010 to 2020.
SPARC becomes the first official NCIA member
With a $5,000 check, SPARC becomes the first official member of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the leading organization advocating for a responsible cannabis industry. SPARC’s founder, Erich Pearson, has always been a firm believer of working with government and community organizations to advance fair and just cannabis policies. He proudly served on the NCIA board from 2010 to 2020.
SPARC plants its roots firmly in Sonoma County
SPARC merged with Sonoma-based Peace in Medicine, increasing its retail footprint from two locations in San Francisco to four stores in the Bay Area.
SPARC also planted its first crop on its new property close to Glen Ellen, CA — in the heart of Sonoma Valley. Through a partnership with Mike Benzinger, a famed biodynamic wine grower in the region, there is a strong emphasis placed on biodynamic growing practices. From early on, SPARC’s vision is to open its wine country farm to the public for tours and cannabis education.
GROWING IN A BUDDING INDUSTRY
The Pheonix rises at the SPARC Farm
A year after the inaugural crop at the SPARC Farm was completely destroyed by the Nuns Fire, SPARC successfully harvested its first crop from the land. Erich and the resilient SPARC team lived up to a promise made one year earlier: “We’ve all huddled and we’re ready to build it, bigger and better.” And the vision to open the SPARC Farm to the public is still very much alive.
The Pheonix rises at the SPARC Farm
A year after the inaugural crop at the SPARC Farm was completely destroyed by the Nuns Fire, SPARC successfully harvested its first crop from the land. Erich and the resilient SPARC team lived up to a promise made one year earlier: “We’ve all huddled and we’re ready to build it, bigger and better.” And the vision to open the SPARC Farm to the public is still very much alive.
SPARC becomes a fully vertical cannabis operator
After months of build out, SPARC opens its 25k sqft manufacturing & distribution facility in Santa Rosa, CA. This facility is home to SPARC’s vertical brands, like Marigold — the “always sun grown” brand that focuses on “cultivation with a conscience.”
SPARC navigates the COVID-19 pandemic & emerges stronger than before
In February, Erich Pearson become a founding member of the Cannabis Business Association of Sonoma County (CBASC), an organization that is “leading the charge to make local regulations more supportive of craft cannabis businesses and transforming the County into a world-class cannabis tourism destination.”
…and then COVID-19 hit. While the pandemic has been difficult for everyone, SPARC has a spirit and a long history of resilience. From the farm to SPARC’s retail footprint, we look at this as a moment to reflect, double-down our effort, and grow to become an even strong company than before. There are many exciting irons in the fire — stay tuned to see where we go from here…
SPARC deepens its roots in San Francisco and the Sonoma Valley
In April of 2022 SPARC opened a new flagship store in San Francisco, SPARC on Polk Street, as well as the first dispensary in Sonoma, Ca.
SPARC extends into new markets in Napa, California.
The first SPARC Napa store opens its doors on April 20th, 2024.
We can be the light that radiates kindness, especially toward those who need it most. We can be the light that illuminates knowledge. That defuses falsehoods and stereotypes with veracity and truth. We can be the light that brightens a way forward. That reveals, not just for ourselves, but for all in our community who are earnest, the path to invention and innovation. To understanding and enlightenment. To the start of something even better. And always good.
Light what’s good.