The regulatory whirlwind that swept through California’s marijuana industry since the newly regulated market launched in January continues to fan many companies’ anxieties – especially those smaller farmers that are more focused on cultivation than mainstream business savvy.

In particular, the state requirement that all growers use licensed distributors as middlemen to get their product to market has resulted in a bottleneck in many rural marijuana farming areas, especially Trinity County, which is famously remote and therefore was a perfect stomping ground for illicit cannabis growers for decades.