Meet Lex Corwin, the queer founder of Stone Road Farms. Learn about his journey in the cannabis industry and his advice for new cannabis users.
โโGo low and slow,โ are theย cautionary words ofย Lex Corwinย forย anyoneย new to cannabis.ย Queerย founder and owner of Stone Roadย Farms (stoneroad.org),ย heย adds โone puff at a time!โ
You can trust this savvy chief, who has many years of personal experience. Now 31, he began smoking during his last year of high school, but it wasnโt until after college that growing weed sparked his entrepreneurial spirit. Imagining a utopian farm destination, he managed to raise funds from friends and family to support this dream. His ambition to start a cannabis business in an environment of nature and sunshine led to Nevada City, California. Originally a gold-mining town, it has a colorful history, a benevolent climate, is surrounded by a thriving arts community, and has an active LGBTQ demographic.
Opened in 2016, Corwin named Stone Road after a street in his Madison, Connecticut home town and began nurturing his organic โsky and earthโ enterprise. A typical customer is female and/or a member of the LGBTQ community, and the packaging, with its rainbow motifs and seasonal symbols, reflect the tastes of his customer base. With Stone Roadโs current staff of eight to twelve, including part-time employees, Corwin claimsยธ โWe are getting bigger and better!โ
โI had always played contact sports in school so it was shocking to myย parents whenย I came out.ย My parents were liberal,ย althoughย at first it wasย dadย whoย was better aboutย [acceptingย my sexuality].ย My motherย was initially disappointed,ย sheย brieflyย imaginedย the loss of a traditional marriage and grandchildren.โ Today, mother, father, sister, the entire Corwin family,ย is all in.โ Married in 2023 on a nearby beach, Corwinโs husband is now the vice president of a New York based private equity fund.
When it comes to cultivating his plants, Corwin believes music enhances their growth.ย โWhether smoking or not I listen to musicย all the time, anything from classical to rap,โย Corwin says, without weighing inย on theย science.ย Among his favorites are Donald Glover andย Charli XCX.ย Either way, there isย surelyย a connection between enjoyingย a tokeย and people who make music, historically speaking. Celebrities known to have beenย marijuanaย fans range from Aerosmith to Led Zeppelin, and the joints keep rolling along. And,ย wasn’t Bob Marley buried not just withย hisย red Gibsonย guitarย and a Bible,ย butย with aย nubย of marijuana as well?
Locatedย near Lake Tahoe, Corwinโsย 57ย unspoiledย acres areย convenientlyย close to the Sacramento Airport.ย Here tooย areย lakes, hiking trails, special summer events, andย nearbyย hotels:ย The National Hotelย is rightย in town, and the Holbrookeย Hotel inย Grass Valleyย isย a five minute driveย away.
Corwinโs cannabis farm is just one of three hundred licensed in Nevada County, California. This is pretty strong evidence that the population at large is increasing its acceptance of marijuana across America. Stone Roadโs greenhouses and products are inspected three times annually by the county, and once a year by the state of California. The obsession with purity plus an all-natural water and soil matrix presumably make the products safer for the consumer and the planet than the mix available illegally. Prices begin at $6 for a โjointโ (a single cannabis smoke) and move on up. The most popular products today are a 10 piece package of pre-rolls and a half ounce roll-your-own-pouch. Additionally, Stone Road Farms offers a wide variety of other choices.
Although federal law still prohibits the shipment ofย any form ofย marijuana, Stone Roadโsย U.S.ย dispensaries areย licensedย not only in California,ย butย also currentlyย inย Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico,ย Oklahoma,ย andย shortly, inย New York.ย If you liveย inย or visit any of these states,ย there areย manyย delivery options andย you can find the outlets listed on the Stone Road website stoneroad.org
