At CANNA we’re excited to share passionate grower stories from across Canada that resonate with our community and inspire us to “grow big or grow home”.
GROWER SPOTLIGHT
So I'm Michel, aka Dreadz. I'm a master grower for MTL Cannabis at the Abba Medix facility in Pickering, Ontario. I've been with them for four years now.
Could you tell us a little bit more about your products?
I feel our best product is obviously the Sage and Sour. It's a sativa. For me, it's my coffee in the morning; it wakes me up and gets me going. But we have some new drops coming that I'm most hyped about. It's the Apple Sauce—it's a hash pre-roll. It’s 0.5 grams of apple fritter hash crumble, all packed into a pre-roll. It smokes perfectly, with a slow and steady burn.
Brand of the Year at GrowUp Awards 2024
We just won Brand of the Year at the GrowUp Awards, and from the whole MTL family, we really want to say thank you for that. The entire team has been working so hard, from the garden to production and the sales team on the street, pushing out all of that good flower. So really, from MTL, thank you so much.
Tell us about your facilities
MTL is in a crazy expansion phase. We just took over other gardens, including the Abba Medix facility in Pickering, where we have four additional grow rooms. On the East Coast, we have Dank'z, a cross of Gelato 41 and Grape Gas. This is what I'm most hyped about growing. I love trying out new strains in the garden, learning how to stress them and tweak them to make them reach their highest level of quality.
Can you share your journey to becoming a Master Grower?
Fresh out of school, I studied production and transformation of cannabis at Gérald Godin in Montreal. I then found an internship with MTL Cannabis, where I worked under Rich Clement, Patrick Pagé, and Mehgan Race Widdison. They were great mentors for me. After four years, they sent me out with the first batch of clones to the Abba Medix facility in Pickering.
What significant challenges have you faced in your role as Master Grower, and how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge for me has been less about the plants and more about the whole team around them. Trying to get everyone on the same mindset and ensuring that they have fun, even though it’s a really hard-working job, is crucial. Fun really bonds the team together.
So, the most challenging aspect and my main focus is creating a good work environment for the team to grow, which in turn helps the plants grow even better.
Can you share a key moment in your career that was a turning point for you?
A turning point for me was definitely when Rich Clement sent me out with the first batch of clones to the Abba Medix facility. I had been growing under Patrick, Mehgan, and Rich for almost four years, and I felt ready for that challenge. Every day since then, I've been learning more about the plants and all the different departments.
How have your growing techniques evolved since the early days of legalization?
My growing techniques have evolved with MTL. MTL went from a three-room setup to a standard LP with 14 rooms. Now, the facility in Montreal handles all the research and development, and whatever they find to be better, they send out to me here at the Pickering facility to try out. We’re also testing new lights to see if different spectrums of light will change the quality of our flower. There are many different techniques we're exploring, especially in terms of pruning and environmental control.
Looking back, what are some major differences in the industry from the beginning of legalization to now?
I think what has changed a lot is people's knowledge of the flower and the industry itself. There’s a lot of education being promoted by budtenders and the sales team. I feel that in a few years, consumers will become much more educated and knowledgeable about what they consume and how they consume it.
What significant feedback or points of pride do you have concerning Canada leading the way in legalized cannabis?
One of the reasons I jumped into this industry in the first place was because it’s so new, and I knew that at some point, other countries would start legalizing as well. They’re going to be looking at Canada, which has the first recreational format. So, I think it’s just a matter of time before other countries start looking to us as a model.
