Shop Talk: Waylon Broussard Of 3C Farms
Waylon talks dispensaries, state/city compliance and much more
How long have you been in this space?
I’ve been in the cannabis industry for over 10 years. I’ve been everything from budtender, to sales rep, to regional rep for companies. My cousin and I opened Cali’s Finest Collective back in 2007. We closed those doors in 2012. After that, I went into consulting. We created Z-Out forms before this industry had any kind of point of sale. I’ve worked with some of the original guys down in Colorado. I was one of the first customers to jump on board with MJ Freeway.
You’re the VP of Sales for 3C Farms. Can you tell us a little bit about what that entails?
3C Farms is a cultivation company. So we’re Craft Cannabis Cultivation. As we evolve, what I do for the company is product development, packaging and branding. This is new. Before it wasn’t about branding. It was just about cultivation, relationships and the reputation our flower had. Now as the industry evolves, my role is to represent 3C Farms’ premium cannabis line to the highest degree (pun intended) while carefully selecting only the best locations to become official 3C Farms premium providers.
What kind of products do you have?
We specialize in flower. We keep it around 33 strains that we cultivate. That’s what kind of makes us different. We crossbreed and make our own strains. We don’t just buy clones. When it comes to everything outside…we collaborate. As a pre-ICO we are not allowed to extract on site, and we’re just not willing to risk our relationships. So we do collaborations. We’ve won a few High Times cups with Moxie. Moxie, Nature’s Lab, Baroni, Trichome Heavy Extractions… Those are some the higher end brands that we work with.
What are some of the best sellers?
Our AC/DC strain. That one is a 20 to 1 ratio. It’s a CBD strong. So it’s almost a non-psychoactive flower. That has been a very popular one. We took third in High Times SoCal this year for best CBD. We took third in NorCal High Times for best CBD strain. And most recently, we took first place for Chalice Festival for best CBD flower with that same strain… We will be coming out with pre-pack AC/DC joints.
Can you tell us about Coast to Coast Collective and Cannabal City Collective?
Those are two collectives as of right now who have exclusivity of our strain genetics. Because they are pre-ICO collectives, they can cultivate on site. It’s different per county, per city, per state. But in the city of Los Angeles, you have to be a pre-ICO. Look at those like our micro grows. A good comparison would be Stone Brewery. They have their master brewery where it’s nothing but brewing for bottling and distribution but then you have your tap houses who have all the flavors on hand. So that’s the relationship with Coast to Coast or Cannabal City Collective. They offer farm-to-table 3C Farms genetics. Every week, they’re harvesting at those locations so they’re fresh.
What are your thoughts about future legislation at your local and state levels? Are there any particular industry or legal shifts that you’re concerned or excited about?
On the dispensary side, when we passed Measure M, what happened is everyone thinks “Oh it’s recreational legal.” So I’ve seen sales plummet and start to take dips in the flower that’s moved through 3C Farms or Cannabal City or Coast to Coast. There are so many stores…we call them rogue shops, that are popping up and are taking 21 or over no rec required. There’s a big frustration with the city not getting aligned.
I send out text messages to all of our patients. When they hit the 30 day mark on their recommendation expiring, they get a reminder from us that says “Hey, you’re 30 days from expiring. Just a heads up. Please feel free to call us if you need help finding a doctor nearest you.” Since then I’ve actually created an auto response. If they say “Weed is legal” or anything to do with that, we respond with “That’s not exactly the law. Be careful. You can put yourself in a bad situation if you happen to get caught at one of those place during a raid.” And I get responses back that say “Well, there are six places near me that are like that already.”
Ever since Measure M passed, the ones that are playing by the rules are the ones taking the most amount of damage, the most hits…the dust needs to settle. Everyone who’s been playing by the rules needs to have their turn, too. That’s where I come from. I’ve [run] dispensaries. So I’ve been through the ringer of IRS agents, the audits, the whole nines. I’ve seen things like we’ll close at 8pm per the ordinance and [others will] have happy hour from 8 to 10 pm. Things like that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 3C Farms is available at 7127 Canoga Ave in Canoga Park, CA (Coast to Coast Collective ) and at 547 Seaton St. in Los Angeles, CA (Cannabal City Collective).
