The EVOLUTION Magazine December 2021 | Page 40

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Holidays in The Heartland

A medicine manufacturing tour at Heartland Labs by Sean Keast , contributing writer

Rural Missouri can be stunningly beautiful , especially on a crisp October morning . My drive to Heartland Labs was no different , taking me through the Ozarks and down into Buffalo , MO . Down a gravel road lay the lab , and as I pressed the security gate button , I couldn ’ t help but be excited . With the holidays here , Heartland Labs was sure to have something wonderful in store . I checked in with Mark Pearcy , head man of the operation , and got a glimpse behind the scenes of exactly how high-quality Missouri cannabis products are manufactured and packaged for dispensaries .

Above : Heartland Labs owner Mark Pearcy walks us through a tour of this amazing manufacturing facility .
All photos by Sean Keast
My excitement was distracted by a wafting chocolate smell filtering down the hallway . We followed our noses and ended up in what is , for all intents and purposes , a gourmet kitchen . Stainless steel cooktops and refrigerators lined the space , and a few of the crew were making a fresh batch of Heartland edible cookies . They even sprinkled some powdered sugar on top . They
had a rhythmic process going , with a click , click of tongs , the trays filled with cooking dough . “ We are working on a Cranberry Shortbread baked product and our White Peppermint chocolate product as well ,” Pearcy said as I admired the kitchen . Ogling cookies aside , Heartland Labs had much more in store .
In the next room , I was met with a rack of beautiful topical balms , all smelling heavily of terpenes and elderflowers . These topicals are the latest product from Heartland Labs and provide transdermal relief for patients . THC and other cannabinoids can be absorbed through skin , muscle tissues , and nerves and can trigger anti-pain and anti-inflammatory effects . Topicals like these provide a low-impact option for patients , with little to no psychoactivity and more targeted effects . All that , and they smell pretty amazing to boot . “ It ’ s been a slower road to roll out products like these , which are targeting certain ailments . It ’ s been a bit challenging , but we have a great crew here , and we are able to roll out good quality ,” said Pearcy .
Across the way , there ’ s a glass-walled room with shiny equipment dominating the space that caught my eye . It ’ s the extraction room where Heartland Labs primarily manufactures its concentrate production . One particular machine stood out due to the pure size of it — the front fascia was seven feet of glass spirals and bulbs . There was another space in the back of the extraction room where one of the crewmembers , named Cooper , hovered over a special set of tanks and pipes . “ It ’ s come a very long way from Butane Hash Oil ,” he said .
40 December 2021