ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — The seeds we sow say a lot about us and Mike Casacci is all about cannabis.
“This one is my personal favorite,” he said, face buried in one of his plants.
Casacci is the man behind House of Sacci, a licensed cannabis cultivator and brand.
2 On Your Side was given exclusive access to his facility in Western New York.
“We are running a lot of different strains,” Casacci said.
Blueberry muffin. Trop-cherry. Lilac diesel.
Each of the strains or types of cannabis vary slightly and are valued for different reasons because of those variations. There is cannabis at every stage, in every shape and size spread across three greenhouses currently in use by the family business.
“Even my grandmother is here putting stickers on product in here three of four days a week," Casacci said.
There is family pride in putting House of Sacci cannabis into the New York market, in part thanks to another Western New York business doing cannabis delivery.
“This is where the magic happens,” Canterra CEO Matt Krupp said.
Canterra is an online cannabis order and delivery service that operates out of Tonawanda.
They make same-day and scheduled deliveries from Rochester to the Southern Tier.
“Either to people that can't make it to a store or don't have the accessibility or are not in their area,” Krupp said.
You've likely heard of food and grocery delivery services, like GrubHub and Instacart, so why not weed?
There are only 26 cannabis dispensaries open statewide, and currently new ones are stalled from opening.
Krupp, a justice-involved individual who got early access to cannabis licensing in New York, started Canterra instead of opening a retail store and cultivated a mobile stock of 450 products, partnering with businesses such as House of Sacci.
“I mean, cannabis has been delivered to people for decades, from the other side of the market, so why not in the legal market?” Casacci said.
Krupp added: “It let us get operating quickly and get products from local farmers into the hands of our community and get ready for legal weed in Western New York.”
The state's cannabis industry has had its fair share of hurdles, but at this stage, with general licensing open and hope alive, Krupp and Casacci believe partnerships are what will make the industry grow.
“The people in this industry are like no people you have ever met before they come from every walk of life but they are hungry to be in the industry because they love cannabis,” Casacci said.
A plant helping people sow seeds for cultivation and a better economic engine.
