While it took a while to iron out the details, Easton Grows LLC used approximately one acre of town property on South Park Avenue to grow cannabis plants for hemp and CBD.
Anne Hughes, a Democrat who represents Easton, Weston and Redding in the legislature, said the partnership is the only such deal in Connecticut.
Griffith Conti, one of the three owners of Easton Grows, said he has a background in the cannabis industry.
Easton First Selectman David Bindelglass said the company’s gross sales were $6,472, of which they paid the town $1,294.
Bindelglass said the selectmen approved the deal because they thought it would be a good experiment.
Conti said his business partner Jeff Becker sought him out after hemp was identified as a good use for some of the land.
For that reason, Conti said, they did not put plants in the ground until August.
Conti said getting approval from the selectmen and P&Z was relatively easy.
When the company got approval, Conti said, the owners spent $30,000 of their own money building it out.
Conti said the only reason the business even came to be was because they could sell the product at Franny’s of Westport, which he also owns.
Conti said CBD products like the ones grown in Easton are federally legal because they are derived from hemp.
Conti said the company had grown five pounds of product originally, noting sales started on October 4.
“That would be dictated by the towns, if we were to win a license, whether its through Easton Grows or Franny’s,” he said.
Conti pointed out that many towns, including neighboring Fairfield, have voted to put a one year moratorium on cannabis establishments.
Hughes said growing hemp, a fast-growing, renewable product, is an important way to replace fossil fuel-based products like plastic in clothing.
If they were to win the license, Conti said, it would also require a huge financial investment to get the THC project off the ground.