Feature of Month
Byron Staton ’ s Displacement
A Story of Sacrifices Made to Bring Missouri Great Cannabis Products
Editorial by Clayton Stallings
As Missouri ends its first full year in the “ Adult Use ” cannabis market , our state has made the top 10 list of states producing the most cannabis in the country , and surprisingly — per capita , we are # 1 . When the state awarded cultivation licenses a few years ago , it gave incentives for businesses to be built in rural areas of the state that needed economic growth . This is why so many of the state ’ s huge grow facilities are in the “ middle of nowhere ” Missouri .
As I ’ ve traveled the state visiting these grows while meeting those in leadership roles that manage and run these businesses , there is one major thing master growers , lead producers , and COOs have in common besides gaining their experience in other states — displacement . They have all come from markets in one of 32 states that went legal before ours , and most were living in or near larger cities and now find themselves in places like Vandailia or Cuba , MO .
This year , we will tell many of their stories in this new “ The Displacement Series .”
One of the first people I mentioned the idea for this series to was Byron Staton , chief of agriculture and production for Bloom / Wondergrove , and the first thing he said was , “ Dude , I can relate . I ’ ve spent over 140 days this year in a Holiday Inn in Kearney , MO — it has become a jail cell to me . And Bro , that doesn ’ t even include all the other hotels this year , which would make it closer to the 200-day mark .”
32 January 2024
Damn , I couldn ’ t imagine spending most of my nights by myself in tiny two – three-star Missouri hotels . The sacrifices that many of our cannabis industry leaders have to make are as real as the journeys that got them to where they are today . That ’ s when the universe told me that these stories need to be told , and who better to start with than Byron Staton ?
Displacement is nothing new to an OG grower like Staton . He is one of the rare ( former ) “ underground ” market cannabis cultivators who managed to make the crossover into the legal commercial cannabis industry . Growing cannabis illegally in the mountains of Seattle , WA , all while raising a family , Staton ’ s biggest concern was not getting caught . For 12 years , they lived in seclusion , “ displaced ” from the surrounding community . “ We had no cell phones , no wi-fi , no close friends , our kids couldn ’ t date , and we didn ’ t talk to many
people ,” said Staton . “ Nobody could come to the house ! My daughter was 11 – 12 before she realized that pizza could be delivered to your house .”
At that time in Washington , patient caregiver models were being introduced , creating gray areas for home cultivators throughout the state . Seeing legalization on the horizon , Staton knew he would need good resume` experience in the form of a degree to compete in the legal market . At age 40 , he went back to college and earned a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Skagit Valley College . Soon after graduating , he became a professor at the same college , all while continuing to illegally grow cannabis and gain experience via the underground market .
▲ Byron Staton during his time as a professor at Skagit Valley College in Washington .