Lifted Cannabis Co. out of Tacoma Washington is a tier-two producer with a tier-three reputation. Many of you know them because of their Wedding Cake strain, but their strain library is far more extensive. A few members from Respect My Region and Ashley Hirchert from Green Cross took a trip to Lifted’s facility in Tacoma Washington to see how they care for their Wedding Cake, Cookies and Cream, Cement Shoes and the rest of their garden. President Tony Ferro, G.M. Cody Shell, Garden Manager Anthony and Sales Manager David Wade were great hosts, and each one gave us unique insights into Lifted’s story, brand, garden contents, cultivation techniques and overall culture.
Lifted Cannabis Co. started growing cannabis in Washington’s former medical collective system. Lifted’s team described their move from medical to recreational as “fate” because of how quickly it all came together. After they acquired their new building, tier-three license, moved and set up, they were flowering the next day and sent their first batch to retailers six months later.
Despite a quick turn around from medical to the recreational market, Lifted’s small team went through many rough patches. Being self-taught in a brand new type of industry has its difficulties. One of Washington’s top-selling brands, Northwest Cannabis Solutions (NWCS,) helped Lifted get off the ground. NWCS purchased Lifted’s cannabis wholesale and sold it through their brand with a small sticker on each package indicating the flower inside was cultivated by Lifted Cannabis Co. This free advertising helped Lifted Cannabis Co. acquire two-dozen new accounts and launched their brand.
As their farm has grown in popularity, one of their biggest problems is keeping up with demand. It’s rare that Lifted doesn’t sell an entire crop of flower before its harvested. They’re still growing into their tier-three space, Ferro described themselves as tier-two maximized grow. The Wedding Cake strain has exploded in popularity in Washington’s recreational market.
The Wedding Cake strain originates from famed California farmers, the Jungle Boys. The Jungle Boys are known for their exotic Cookies genetics. Cookies made its way to Washington when the rapper Berner helped bring the Exotikz brand to Washington. The Exotikz brand contains famed Jungle Boys genetics and is grown by Washington producer, Blue Dream Inc. And weirdly enough, Blue Dream Inc. and Lifted Cannabis Co. both grow out of the same facility in Tacoma, meaning all of this states Wedding Cake comes from the exact same building. Anthony knows their Wedding Cake phenotype is different than Exotikz, but without a doubt, they both live up to the Jungle Boys hype.
Wedding Cake is one of the stickiest, sweetest, and strongest Cookies strains you’ll try, but it’s not the only reason for the demand. Lifted’s Wedding Cake is priced substantially below Exotikz, around $25 less for 3.5 grams. This price differential is helping drive demand, a demand that almost ruined their business. Wedding Cake exploded to such a degree that nobody wanted any of their other strains. Wedding Cake already takes up half of their main grow room, two full rows. Lifted is currently in the process of creating a system that will increase production of the Wedding Cake without affecting the production of other strains in their garden.
Lifted realized they had to find more strains and strategize to compete with their own Wedding Cake. Lifted has a huge seed bank, and they went digging around for the next hitters, one ended up being the Cement Shoes We had the pleasure of seeing two separate Cement Shoes phenotypes growing in the garden. One was clearly shorter, with thicker flowers, while the other was much taller with thinner flower formations. I’ve never seen different phenotypes of the same strain growing side by side. It gave me instant visual recognition of the importance of proper pheno-hunting. Different phenotypes of the same strain express different characteristics of the parents and you want to make sure you pick one that has the best possible balance of look, smell, taste, and yield. Seeing two completely different Cement Shoes phenotypes growing side by side was the highlight of the garden. Cookies and Cream, 501st OG, and French Toast were other strains that caught my attention.
The other strain the guys at Lifted are pumped for is their Golden Lemons. Golden Lemons is from DNA Genetics and is a cross between Lemon Skunk and Kosher Kush. They raved about this strain during the tour and mentioned a collaboration with Refine Seattle is on the horizon. Golden Lemons is known as a top choice for concentrate extractions because of its’ stinging lemon aromatics and high THC percentages. Be on the lookout for a Refine X Lifted Cannabis Golden Lemons loud resin at a recreational retailer near you.
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Strain names have quite a pull on purchasing decisions. So, they also rebranded their Gorilla Glue #4 to compete with their Wedding Cake, as well as the countless other Gorilla Glue strains on the market. Lifted’s Gorilla Glue #4 is now Ivan The Gorilla, who is a historic character in Tacoma’s history.
Ivan was an actual gorilla that was raised from a baby in Tacoma by Earl Irwin, founder of the former B&I Circus Store. After Ivan was too large to handle, he was sadly caged and became a popular exhibit. Animal activism and a failing B&I business created an opportunity for Ivan to spend a short stint at Woodland Park Zoo, and his remaining 18 years at the Atlanta Zoo running around with a group of female gorillas.
Ivan The Gorilla is a Tacoma staple and Lifted Cannabis hopes to be one in the future. Lifted Cannabis Co. is breeding a “town hero” culture around their brand, a small town feel that reflects their work environment. Lifted is growing fast, but they’ll always be the little guys with humble Tacoma roots at heart.
Lifted Cannabis Co. Strain Reviews
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