Blum continued,“ Our license got commenced for operation on September 3rd at 11 a. m., and when I told my father, it was the first time I had seen the light in his eyes of joy and excitement since his wife was diagnosed with aggressive early-onset dementia.” Things were finally heading in the right direction— or so they thought!
On that same day of commencement, after telling all their friends and family the good news, they were also scheduled to leave for MJ Unpacked, where they planned to set up an MMBA booth with information about all the Micro Licensees. They went back to their house to get everything needed for the conference, just after a huge microburst had come through the area. When first pulling up, La Pietra noticed some pallets had blown 50 feet across the yard. As he walked around the corner, he saw that the greenhouse had partially collapsed because of the storm.
“ It was one of the most devastating things to ever happen to us, and it felt like all was lost in that moment,” said Blum.“ The next day, we went to assess the damage. To see my father walk around the fence and see the damage for the first time, and see that same light suddenly leave his eyes, was soul-crushing.
“ We had two separate contractors tell us that it was unfixable and that it would be more expensive to fix it than to just tear the whole thing down and start over, replacing it. We laughed and just said,‘ Watch us!’”
After being blown down and rebuilt, Bud Wizard’ s greenhouse was filled with plants.( Photo from October 2025.)
Using some“ redneck” ingenuity, as Blum called it, they used 2x6’ s, wall jacks, and a bunch of friends and family, and together worked their way down slowly, inching each section back up into place. They cut out the sections damaged beyond repair and replaced them by sliding new pipes over the salvaged sections, securing them with muffler clamps.“ In just two weeks, it went from something that looked impossible to fix to being even stronger than it was before,” said La Pietra. That, my friends, is“ Perseverance.”
After rebuilding the greenhouse, they emailed DHSS, and within an hour of sending the email, they received approval to operate for a second time. They filled the 1,800-squarefoot space with 240 plants arranged in four rows, grown in coco with a drip-feeding system.
“ Throughout the entire journey, there were a lot of different moments of moving the goal post— and the moments when it would all actually feel real. From winning the license to building the greenhouse, then rebuilding the greenhouse again, to having our first harvest, it never really felt REAL until Jimi at 816 Dispensary sent
▲ Bud Wizard’ s Lime Glow flower Hybrid – 20 % ± 2 % THC— OG Kush x Skunk # 1 x EZBake AF This varietal, with blended genetics from the famous strains OG Kush and Skunk # 1, belongs in everyone’ s grinder for its anxietyrelieving wonders.( Photo by Bud Wizard)
Dean Lee is holding Bud Wizard’ s first-ever product sold.“ That first sale at 816 Dispensary was the moment it all became real for me,” said Blum.
( Photo by 816 Dispensary staff.) us a picture( on left) of our very first legal sale,” marveled Blum.“ When I received that picture from Jimi, I was on a phone call with the health and wellness committee of We Are JAINE for our weekly planning meeting, and I just started crying. OMG, after two-and-a-half years, it’ s FINALLY real!”
Today, Bud Wizard’ s Bumper OG and Lime Glow strains can be found at microbusiness dispensaries: 816 Dispensary in North KC, Kush 21 Dispensary in Poplar Bluff, and Grass Roots Dispensary in Cape Girardeau. Bud Wizard will introduce fresh-frozen extracts to the micro-industry in March, including grams of live rosin, 1 / 2-gram live rosin carts, and infused pre-rolls.
It is crucial for consumers to recognize that purchasing from your state-licensed microbusiness dispensary not only supports local, smalland family-owned businesses— who frequently lack the substantial investor capital of the larger Missouri cannabis corporations— but also supports their resilience, unwavering determination.
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