Business & Development, Creswell

Mike Arnold leaves One Gro

Mike Arnold

One Gro Founder Mike Arnold is officially no longer part of One Gro Investment Group.
Arnold has left the group to take what he’s learned about the cannabis industry on the road, One Gro Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dan Isaacson told The Chronicle.
With no connection to One Gro moving forward, Arnold is intent on consulting in states that may want to get into the cannabis industry, Isaacson said, who now serves as CEO, president and chairman for the cannabis company.
”Arnold has done what he wanted to do in Oregon and is moving on,” Isaacson said. In 11 months, Arnold helped to assemble the largest cannabis company in Oregon by plant number – the company grew 50,000 plants in 2017, Isaacson said, noting the closest competitor came in at 30,000 plants last year.
One Gro has seven licenses – four to grow, one for wholesale, one for processing, one for indoor grows and a retail license.
”So Arnold will now take and duplicate what he did with One Gro in other states – sharing the pitfalls, the processes,” Isaacson said. ”There’s a huge need for people blaze the trail (for the cannabis industry). Arnold will consult (with) interested parties on what works and what doesn’t, based on his experience.”
The number of people who have broken into the cannabis industry successfully, who also have ”a legally keen mind,” is a tiny number, Isaacson said. He said Arnold recently held a conference in Missouri, where recreational marijuana is not yet legalized. He is also seeking out Hawaii, where there is already a successful medical marijuana and tourism market to build on, Isaacson said.
Meanwhile, at One Gro, Isaacson said that in the new year, One Gro is focusing more on creating partnerships with neighbors in the community.
The company has received complaints in the past about the truck traffic that frequent their roads near the farms. One Gro now offers neighbors truck delivery schedules, so that neighbors know when they will be coming and going.
”One Gro wants to avoid (conflict) by letting people know when the shipments will come,” Isaacson said. ”We will accommodate our neighbors the best we can if they have issues with our deliveries,” Isaacson said. For example, if a truck is scheduled for 8 a.m. and a neighbor works nights, the crew will work to accommodate that if they are made known of the issue.
”One Gro tried to learn from some of the mistakes made in the past, and the proof is on our side to show that we’re more than just words, that there’s commitment behind (our words),” Isaacson said.
He said One Gro will also be planting lots of deodorizing plants this year to help mitigate the marijuana crop smell, but the plants will take time to grow.
One Gro plans to grow about 24,000 plants this year – about half the size of last year’s crop. This year, they’re focusing on ”quality over quantity,” he said.
”Instead of harvesting 40,000 plants at a time, we will be harvesting 24,000 at a time,” Isaacson said. ”The plants will require less nutrients, will produce a larger yield and will leave a smaller footprint on the community.”
In other One Gro news, One Gro received their first acquisition offer recently. Isaacson said the first year’s numbers do not reflect what the One Gro business is actually worth, so they ultimately turned down the offer, Isaacson said.
”We knew we would have offers being made, but we didn’t know it would be within the first year of operation,” Isaacson said. ”It’s always good to receive validation and see that what you’re doing is worthwhile.”
Also in One Gro news, Isaacson said that One Gro Investments Group still hasn’t been served papers for the recently reported lawsuit for $455,721 for an alleged breach of contract with the human resources company, Tradesmen International.
City Administrator Michelle Amberg said that the City of Creswell has sent an invoice for the cost of the November 2017 election to One Gro Investments. Last year, Isaacson pledged that One Gro would pay up to $5,000 towards the cost of the election if they lost. The bill amount is for $2,619.04, Amberg said.
The City of Creswell received the bill for the November election in January 2018. The City paid the County for the election and sent the invoice for reimbursement from One Gro on Jan.18, 2018, Amberg said.
Isaacson said that he has not received an itemized bill, and last heard from the City of Creswell about this matter in December 2017.
As for the Creswell building at 285 E. Oregon Ave. where Isaacson plans for a CBD dispensary and administrative offices, a notice has been put on their door from Pacific Power on Jan. 25, 2018, stating that their power has been turned off due to nonpayment.
Isaacson said that the ”Creswell building is not a high priority right now, but it will be in the upcoming weeks,” as they plan to move more administrative staff to the building in the the weeks to come.
More on One Gro as updates become available.

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