HAWAII’S BIG ISLAND GROWN

WHAT’S IN STORE?

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Hawaii’s Big Island for the first time. My friend James Rushing, CEO of the cannabis-consulting firm White Coat Services, had arranged for me to tour the cultivation facilities of Big Island Grown, locally known as B.I.G. Formerly called Lau Ola, Big Island Grown is a locally owned and operated, vertically integrated company with three medical-marijuana retail locations on the Big Island—Hilo, Waimea and Kona. The Hilo location opened in January as the first cannabis dispensary on the Big Island, and perhaps the only dispensary in the world located on an active volcano.

My trip started with a tour of the Hilo shop, which has a comfortable lobby and waiting area designed with local hardwood and iPads for advance pre-ordering of medicine for those with valid state medical-marijuana cards only.