Body and Mind flower hits Central Arkansas shelves June 27, 2022 By Griffin Coop Flower from Body and Mind Dispensary of West Memphis has hit Central Arkansas shelves. At least four strains from the West Memphis dispensary have hit the shelves at Berner’s by Good Day Farm in Little Rock and Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood. The strains will also be available soon at Native Green Wellness in Little Rock and Hensley, Hash and Co. in Pine Bluff and Suite 443 in Hot Springs, according to Dan Fortas, the store’s Arkansas operations manager and head cultivator. Arkansas law allows dispensaries to grow up to 50 mature plants and up to 150 immature plants. Arkansas Cannabiz reported last week that 17 dispensaries are growing their own and other dispensaries have said they have plans to grow as well. A few of the dispensary-grown strains have made it to other dispensaries. In addition to Body and Mind, Native Green in Hensley, Suite 443 in Hot Springs and High Bank in Pine Bluff have cultivated their own product and sold it to other dispensaries, according to Scott Hardin, spokesman for the state Medical Marijuana Commission. Body and Mind began cultivating last year (on 4/20, in fact), and the products hit the shelves in the West Memphis store in December. Last month, Body and Mind began wholesale distribution of its homegrown flower, Fortas said. Six of the store’s 21 employees are dedicated to the cultivation operation, Fortas said. With cultivation limitations, how has Body and Mind been able to grow enough to supply its own store as well as six others? “I specialize in operations that have very strict criteria in cultivation settings,” Fortas said. Fortas researched phenotypes (“pheno hunting” as he calls it) to find the best plants that would grow the biggest, so he could produce as much as possible with a small number of plants. The method has been successful thus far with just 40 plants — 10 below the state maximum for mature plants — producing enough product to supply the West Memphis store as well as two others. Fortas said he expected the store to expand distribution to four more stores and said that the first two stores have made re-orders. Body and Mind is growing six strains: Puppy Breath, Lost Dawg, Chem dela Cake, Cambo Kush, G-baby 99 and K.O. Fortas described his dispensary as creating a “niche market” in which customers are interested in his products but know they may only be available for a limited time before a store sells out. The products may not be replaced for a couple weeks, he said. The small production scale has created diversity in the marketplace and has allowed a small player to sell products alongside much bigger producers, not unlike the beer industry, Fortas said. “We are the craft microbrewery of the cannabis industry,” Fortas said. The dispensary has plans for other products such as concentrates, Fortas said. The dispensary has been working with Dark Horse Medicinals and BOLD for processing and Body and Mind is applying to the state Medical Marijuana Commission to become a processor as well.
