Nevada is one of the most competitive retail cannabis markets in the United States, and Deep Roots Harvest has been betting for years that the way to win is to control everything. 11 cultivation, processing, manufacturing, extraction and retail locations all under one roof, or pretty close to it. Chris O’Ferrell, Deep Roots Harvest’s Chief Cultivator, runs the growing side of that operation in two facilities totaling 30,000 square feet, pushing 500 pounds of harvested cannabis per week and 2,000 pounds of biomass per month.

“The Source and Deep Roots harvest retail team sells 75 kilos of cannabis daily, 500 kilos weekly, over a third of which is in-house to support the High Heads, Neon Moon and CAMP brands. We cultivate, extract, process, manufacture and work the retail locations,” says Chris. “We have one of the largest market shares in Nevada in terms of retail volume and gross sales.”

That volume is produced by 60 full-time employees at the two sites, and the crop program behind it is, by any reasonable measure, built for efficiency and quality. “Many of the genetics in our library consistently exceed 100 grams per square foot, which directly helps reduce our overall cost per gram,” explains Chris. “We operate with a consumer-first approach, focusing on cost consciousness while providing tasty and competitive offerings. We operate below 70 cents per gram, a benchmark that reflects careful cost management. Getting there and staying there has required compressing costs at all input levels while continuing to invest in technology that moves the needle on quality, cost efficiency and performance.”

© Deep Roots Harvest Chris O’Ferrell, Chief Cultivator at Deep Roots Harvest

Genetics as intended by the producer
The transition of light is a clear example of this, as is the case with cannabis. In the beginning, the company used your classic HPS lights. As LED technology advanced, Deep Roots made the switch. However, it wasn’t just about improving energy efficiency. Chris and the team understood that the more precisely the crop was targeted, the better the final product would be. Energy savings don’t necessarily show up on retail shelves, but crop control does, in the form of flowers that express their genetics the way the grower intended.

To achieve this level of control, the spectrum became a critical tool. “We start with the spring setting, using the blue light to regulate the spacing of the interiors and control the spacing,” he explains. “As the plants progress, we move to the summer spectrum until the end of week eight, switching to a broader spectrum light with balanced wavelengths. This increases the red light, along with other parts of the spectrum to more closely replicate sunlight. We also increase the light intensity during the flowering phase to improve the plant’s photosynthetic performance, accumulation and photosynthetic activity. The parameters support the initiation of flowering, accelerate maturation and allow the plant to reach its potential they allow him to fully express his genetics.”

Nothing is left to chance
At canopy level, plants from the two largest facilities are housed in two-gallon coco pots, chosen to accommodate longer growing periods and larger plant structures. The second facility operates stone wool. Both use substrate sensors in connection with fertigation control, and track performance at different growth stages. Dissolved oxygen is injected into the root zone to increase availability, and a chlorine injection system keeps the lines clear of pathogens with a relatively inexpensive cleanup compared to conventional cleaning programs. “A chlorine injection system is relatively inexpensive to implement, replacing approximately $40,000 in other cleaning and disinfection products annually,” says Chris. “It’s all about being ahead of the curve.”

Pest management is entirely biological, implemented in conjunction with mechanical and cultural controls. “We haven’t had any pest problems,” says Chris. “This was also a decision based on reducing inputs while maintaining, if not improving, the quality of the product.”

Genetics is the backbone of cannabis operations and the gas that drives the company’s engine. They receive the same systematic treatment as all other parts of the operation. A steering committee reviews the portfolio quarterly, withdrawing underperforming cultivars and acquiring replacements based on market data from multiple markets, cross-referenced with gaps in the current menu. The criteria are repeatable agronomic performance, yield, potency, distinctive flavor profile and the ability to wash well for extraction, ensuring strong yields for both rosin and resin production. “All genetics need to adapt to the program,” says Chris. “Unique production, potency and flavor expression that fills the void of what we don’t have on the menu. It’s about finding a commercial cultivar that works well and fits the existing infrastructure. All the cultivars we grow now have a similar and predictable growth structure. The difference is the color, the smell, the experience. They are very close agronomically.”

Ahead of the unofficial cannabis holiday on 4/20, a leading marijuana reform group is asking consumers to take a poll about the freedoms they experience (or lack thereof) where they live.

The new 2026 Cannabis Freedom Survey from the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) includes the questions: “Where you live, how free are adults to legally possess and access cannabis?” and “Where you live, how concerned are you about the legal consequences for cannabis users?”

The survey “is designed to capture the real-time sentiment of cannabis consumers in the United States and abroad to see how individuals experience the politics of cannabis in their daily lives,” NORML said.

The the questioning It also includes a question asking people to choose “the most important step that would increase the freedom of cannabis where you live.”

Options include ending marijuana arrests, legalizing adult marijuana, allowing adults to grow their own cannabis, allowing the sale of legal cannabis, making legal cannabis cheaper, clearing records and resolving past convictions, changing federal cannabis laws and protecting consumer rights (parental, workplace, housing, health).

In addition, it asks whether respondents at the national level fully respect marijuana policy for consumer freedom, whether it is moving in the right direction, stagnant without significant progress, or regressing.

“In some jurisdictions, cannabis comes with real freedom. In others, it still comes with real consequences,” NORML Director of Development JM Pedini said in a press release. “This survey is about capturing that gap, not just what the laws say, but how people actually experience them.”

Pedini told Marijuana Moment that the organization will likely compile the results and release them a few days before 4/20.