Business View Magazine | October 2019

250 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2019 seed or cutting from which that plant was grown. So, all of those mechanisms, together: electronic security, seed to sale tracking, very comprehensive education and training of our employees, has led to very, very tight security and no shrinkage at all.” BVM: What does the future look like for Sira Naturals and the legal cannabis industry in Massachusetts? Dundas: “The municipal process is really where the game is being played in cannabis. The way that the state law is structured, you have to get approval from your municipality before you can go to the state for a state license. And because of that structure, you really have to have a very tight ground game in terms of reaching out to your community, making yourself known, talking to local elected officials, and making sure that your project has buy-in from all stakeholders in your community. And that has proven very difficult for many operators. It takes time, effort, and skill to get that done. That’s part of the reason we’ve seen a little bit of a slow rollout of the adult-use program here in Massachusetts, because lots of folks are still struggling with that local ground game. “But I think that the regulated cannabis industry has a very bright future – both medium and long-term. And I hope that Sira Naturals will play a significant role in that future here in Massachusetts. We have 170 employees, today, and we are growing rapidly; we expect that to balloon to about 300 within the next 12 months or so. We’re currently expanding our cultivation and manufacturing capacity; we’re looking to expand our wholesale footprint, as well as get our three dispensaries up and running for both medical and adult-use. And we expect that we’re going to see growth – not just for our organization, but for the industry as a whole, moving forward. “You look at the regulated cannabis in Massachusetts, today, and you’re taking a snapshot of an industry in development – probably in the second or third inning – and we have plenty of game to go. That’s how we see it.” PREFERRED VENDORS n BeGreen Supply www.begreensupply.com n Springfield Label www.springfieldlabel.com