The cannabis industry is rapidly growing, with entrepreneurs and investors looking to take part in this lucrative business. But what is it like to be a cannabis entrepreneur? Did they start big or did they have to work their way up from humble beginnings? Let’s hear it from Terryn Buxton.
Terryn and I have been part of the same community for many years, working towards similar goals. Despite our proximity, we never had a chance to connect properly. We recently had the chance to speak and spend some quality time together at the Emerald Cup.
Terryn’s story impressed me during our conversation, and I found it truly inspiring. I’d love to share with you how Terryn built a thriving cannabis business from the ground up. He will walk us through his experience as a budtender to becoming a Cannabis entrepreneur, let’s dive in!
Who is Terryn Buxton?
Terryn, the founder and CEO of Oakland Extracts, a local concentrate company in Oakland, California, has been in the legal cannabis industry since 2006, having worked in the traditional market prior. Despite the industry’s volatility, he feels fortunate to still be involved as few of his peers from a decade ago remain. For the past 10 years, Oakland Extracts has been his main focus despite wearing many hats over the years.
For the past two and a half years, he has dedicated all his efforts to Oakland Extracts, despite selling other brands. Before this, for about eight years, Terryn worked with other brands to make ends meet. He began in cultivation, worked as a Harborside Health Center budtender, and then held different roles in the cannabis industry.
From a Budtender to Becoming a Cannabis Entrepreneur
Terryn started his career doing community service work, specifically working with at-risk youth in high-stress positions. He enjoyed the work and found it fulfilling, but it was a challenging job. A friend introduced him to growing cannabis, and he started growing with him, eventually leading him to want to do it full-time. However, he found growing to be very isolating, which was a stark contrast to his previous job where he was constantly interacting with people. To remedy this, he started visiting Harborside, a cannabis club near his home, just to be around people and learn more about the plant.
After each visit, he felt like he learned so much more about growing and the plant itself. He saw the opportunity of working at a cannabis club as a way to gain exposure to all types of knowledge about growing and the plant. He started working at Harborside, not because he needed the money, but to be in a communal atmosphere where he could learn and interact with people. Terryn found working as a budtender more enjoyable than he had expected, and he considers it to be his favorite job ever. Realizing that being a budtender enabled him to assist people uniquely, he provided a distinctive form of service.
From Budtender to Cannabis Entrepreneur
He had the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people, from those who were just trying to get high to patients who had serious medical needs. Terryn found it emotionally exhausting to wear so many different hats, but he also found it rewarding to help people and gain knowledge about the plant.
Working as a budtender allowed him to learn about all the different uses of the plant, the available products, and how people related to the product. It gave him a great basis to decide what else he might want to do in the cannabis space. Terryn worked at Harborside for three years, which gave him a taste of many different businesses in the cannabis industry. He also found it to be an important experience before starting his own business, as it gave him a better understanding of the industry and made sales easier.
In addition, being a budtender also opened doors for him that were previously closed, as reputable people in the industry recognized his face and pedigree. His involvement in the cannabis industry and the possibility of going to jail concerned his mom, who was anti-weed. After a while, Terryn wanted to do his own thing, and the experience he gained as a budtender gave him the confidence to take the opportunity.
The Wonders of Cannabis Plant
In the cannabis industry, it is common to hear anecdotes about how the plant has helped people recover from serious illnesses. But to witness someone’s life-changing day by day because of it is a different experience altogether. Many people who work in the industry have seen patients with visible tumors that shrink from a topical or people who had wasted from chemotherapy being able to eat and gain weight again. These transformations are profound and impactful. However, not everyone who desperately needs cannabis benefits from it.
Some people get sicker and eventually pass away, realizing that cannabis is not an absolute cure. It is important to experiment with different varieties to figure out what works best for each individual. For those who have experienced success with cannabis, it can be transformational. They go from being visibly sick and looking like they are at death’s door to being happy and healthy functioning human beings.
Budtenders who work with these patients over time feel immense gratitude and appreciation for being part of their health journey. Working around a plant that is often associated with laughter and good times can provide a profound experience. The emotional impact of the job can be overwhelming at times, with many budtenders having to take a break and collect themselves after a particularly moving interaction with a patient.
The Story Behind Oakland Extracts
Terryn had a great time working at Harborside, but after a while, he realized that retail wasn’t something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. His mom, who was anti-weed, was concerned about him being involved in the cannabis industry and the possibility of going to jail. He started helping his mom’s friends behind her back with cannabis-related issues, and this helped him gain a better understanding of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. His mom’s friends encouraged him to take his knowledge and expertise to the next level and start his own brand.
He had an interest in cultivation, but knowing it was hard work, he discovered concentrate creation with some friends. They learned how to make butane-based hash and saw that it didn’t have to be expensive to be good. They started distributing to friends and other clubs, and eventually, Oakland Extracts was born. Terryn wanted to make sure his product was affordable and accessible to everyday people, not just those who could afford the high-end stuff. He focused on keeping his product top-notch quality with an everyday price, making it approachable to people in the community.
Let’s talk about extracts
What are concentrates?
According to Terryn, hash is a concentrated form of cannabis essential oils, which are not technically the same as essential oils. Smoking cannabis involves inhaling a lot of physical carbon from the plant, which doesn’t have any psychoactive or medicinal benefits. By consuming only the extracted oils in hash, it’s theoretically easier on the body and lungs since there’s less particulate matter in the smoke. The development of hash involved extracting the oil from the plant.
Terryn believes that this is still how many people view the use of hash today. The essential oils in cannabis include THC, cannabinoids, and terpenes. While THC is an indicator of how strong the psychoactive effect will be, the terpene profile determines the uplifting or relaxing experience. The speaker aims to extract both terpenes and THC to provide a unique experience with the strain and the power behind it.
What do you use for extraction?
There are many different extraction methods for cannabis, and Terryn uses hydrocarbon extraction, which involves a mix of butane and propane gases. To make it easier to separate the oils from the plant matter, the oil is frozen, and then the gases are removed. The speaker acknowledges that the science behind the extraction process can be complicated, but emphasizes the basic idea of extracting oils from the plant.
The resulting hash can take various forms, such as oil, crystal, or wax, depending on the customer’s preference. Different types of hash are created during post-production, after the oil has been extracted, and are determined by how the oil is shaped or formed. In summary, the focus of hash is to extract oil from the plant and create various forms for consumption.
The Different Ways of Consumption
There are different types of cannabis concentrates available for consumption, such as wax and oils. Wax is a solid substance that’s easy to handle, making it convenient for sprinkling or crumbling over flour. On the other hand, oils are better suited for smearing on paper or consuming using devices like DAB rigs. Concentrates are more potent than smoking the flower itself, making them ideal for those seeking a quicker and stronger psychoactive effect.
While recreational use is common, many people turn to concentrates for medicinal purposes, such as to alleviate acute GI issues. One of the benefits of concentrates is that they can be consumed using discrete devices like vape pens, allowing people to use them in environments where smoking is not permitted. The immediate effects of concentrates are noticeable, and users can quickly achieve the desired effects.
Lessons from Terryn’s experience as a Cannabis Entrepreneur
Terryn reflects on the complexity of business and wonders what he could have done differently to improve things. He acknowledges that the reason his company still exists is due to the network of support they have in the clubs and in the wider community. Terryn values this support and recognizes that they wouldn’t be where they are without the care of those around them. He acknowledges his inability to cultivate more support and the danger of accepting funding from sketchy sources. While he wishes they could have grown faster and brought on employees sooner, he is glad that they didn’t take money from others who are now struggling to stay afloat.
Aside from that, he acknowledges that his stress and behavior have impacted those around him, and he wishes he could have been better to his colleagues. He realizes that adjusting his attitude and how he treats those around him is crucial for the success of his business and for maintaining strong relationships with his partners.
The Journey as a Cannabis Entrepreneur
Terryn’s cannabis journey is inspiring, showcasing perseverance and determination in creating opportunities. It highlights the importance of turning obstacles into opportunities. Aspiring and established entrepreneurs alike can learn from his experiences and insights. It’s clear that success in the cannabis industry requires a combination of passion, hard work, and an unwavering dedication to the plant and the people it can help.
We hope you enjoyed listening to Terryn’s story and gained some valuable lessons from his journey. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the High Class Podcast.
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