Close to Home: Why won’t DA Jill Ravitch expunge marijuana convictions?

By Erich Pearson

You want to know what white privilege looks like? It looks like me. I’m a successful entrepreneur, and I’m a felon, a multiple offender. I’ve been convicted at least six times for various marijuana offenses. But you wouldn’t... read more

"It's simple: marijuana offenses are no longer crimes, therefore we should not continue to punish the individual with a criminal record."

Sebastopol City Council set to decide whether to allow recreational cannabis retail by January

By Julie Johnson

Sebastopol could become the first place in Sonoma County to establish local rules governing the recreational cannabis trade, allowing adults without recommendations to buy marijuana by next year. City Council members Tuesday will consider putting... read more

"[Cannabis commerce and production outside of the medicinal market is] the right thing to do, that’s what the voters wanted, that’s what they expect."

Sonoma Valley cannabis farm goes up in smoke

By Christian Kallen

The air was full of smoke, as it was everywhere in the Sonoma Valley the second week of October. But mixed with the smell of burning wood and plaster was a familiar spicy, slightly skunky odor – one widely prevalent in the Emerald Triangle of... read more

"We've all huddled and we're ready to build it, bigger and better."

Fires destroy Sonoma County marijuana crop; millions in taxes at risk

By Julie Johnson

Each day has been a marathon for cannabis entrepreneur Felipe Recalde since a massive fire destroyed entire neighborhoods in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa. The Fountaingrove home he shared with his fiancee burned to the ground, taking with it the... read more

"Everything we’d harvested to date was gone."

Devastating Photos Show Wildfire’s Toll on a California Cannabis Farm

By Peter Hecht

Erich Pearson, chief executive officer of the San Francisco Patient Resource Center, was startled awake at 1:30 a.m. Monday to the hellish sight of a firestorm raining embers onto his sprawling cannabis farm in California’s wine country. “The... read more

"The entire sky was glowing. I could see orange and dots of bright red. There were multiple fires all over the mountain."

"We’re still assessing what we’ve lost. Everyone is reacting differently to the situation. I’m in a fight mode. I’m asking, ‘What can we do as a community? What can we do to help our neighbors?' In Sonoma County, this will be a huge, huge impact on the economy."

Cannabis farm takes root in Glen Ellen

By Sarah C. Phelps

With its application currently traveling down Sonoma County’s new cannabis permitting pipeline, San Francisco-based SPARC has brought its four-acre medical marijuana farm in Glen Ellen into the limelight. The year-old SPARC (San Francisco Patient... read more

"We grow and produce the majority of the cannabis we sell. That’s really important to us. We take a lot of pride in what we’re offering."

"We are farm-to-table, terroir driven, and tap root based. When you plant a seed in the ground, each plant is a bit different. They send out tap roots that ingest minerals and water from the soil providing a unique terroir-influenced product. The cannabis grown on our biodynamic farm will be the equivalent of a reserve wine from a winery."

"I’ve been working on the cannabis frontier for a long time. We’ve been making steady progress, but it certainly hasn’t been easy. This farm and the possibilities available from biodynamic farming are absolutely thrilling. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out, but I am sure we are onto something very special."

Sonoma Valley turkey ranch turns its soil to cannabis cultivation

By Christian Kallen

An old turkey ranch near Glen Ellen is the site of a very new business model, applying biodynamic principals that have worked well in grape production and other agricultural practices to the rapidly-growing field of legal cannabis cultivation.... read more

"We have to continue to cultivate. We have our existing members at our dispensary that are counting on the medicine that we grow."

"[SPARC's] advisor is Mike Benziger, founder and former owner of the winery that bears his name, long acknowledged as a pioneer in biodynamic farming in the wine industry."

"I have seen [biodynamic farming] work in the wine business. To have [SPARC's Founder & CEO] Erich [Pearson] embrace this type of farming with his cannabis could create a whole new prototype for how that crop is farmed in America."

"I can’t wait to see how it all plays out, but I am sure we are onto something very special."

Breaking new ground: Wine and weed leaders collaborate on biodynamic Sonoma Valley pot farm

By Heather Irwin

Erich Pearson is no stranger to planting cannabis. As the CEO of SPARC and a longtime marijuana activist, he’s spent years farming pot indoors, outdoors and in greenhouses. But with his feet in the warm dirt of Sonoma Valley, even he’s a little... read more

"I have believed in the biodynamic model for a long time. I have seen it work in the wine business. To have Erich embrace this type of farming with his cannabis could create a whole new prototype for how that crop is farmed in America."

"I understand the importance of working with the government, the public entities in Sonoma County and neighbors in Sonoma Valley to explain what we are doing and how this new, biodynamic farm venture will contribute to and enrich the community."

Santa Rosa’s Peace in Medicine merging with SPARC

By Julie Johnson

One of Sonoma County’s most recognized marijuana dispensaries is merging with a large San Francisco cannabis collective. Peace in Medicine is integrating with its longtime partner SPARC, the San Francisco Patient and Resource Center, a Mission... read more

"Given increased competition, we think it will be easier to promote our mission under one brand, and it's more unifying as a company. We're one big team now."

"Erich is one of the greatest growers there is. The collaboration grew from there."