Startups sprout while seizing ancillary medical marijuana opportunities

Jack Grover has long watched his brother suffer in pain from cerebral palsy. The motor disorder makes it difficult for his brother to control movements, coordination and posture. Grover doesn’t need a study to make him a proponent of medical marijuana. He’s a witness.

Grover said he’ll never forget the relief that came over his brother from ingesting marijuana.

“He was hunched over and really tight. He had muscle spasms and it was visible how much pain and discomfort he was in,” Grover said. “But the pain went away with marijuana. Right away, I saw how powerful the plant is as a medicine that’s used to help people. I instantly became an advocate for cannabis reform so more people can have access to it.”

He didn’t realize it then, but that moment planted the seed for a business idea. Between a visit to a friend’s dispensary in Colorado – noticing that packaging came from various industries – to talks with a college friend who spent years working in cultivation, Grove Bags was launched two years ago.

“A lot of dispensaries use repackaging from other industries, using bags that are not engineered for cannabis. A lot of them use aluminum bags that are made for coffee. But while they work as a barrier for odor, the problem is the packaging doesn’t allow the product to breathe and sweat, and it increases the chance for mold,” said Grover, 26, who co-founded Grove Bags with college friend, Ryan Carnevale, after leaving jobs in banking and technology. “Our bags protect the product and maintain weight.”

• This is one in an occasional series of stories about the businesses based around medical marijuana in Ohio.

With more states legalizing marijuana for medical use, Grover is among hundreds of Ohio entrepreneurs who are identifying challenges and working on solutions for the fast-growing medical marijuana industry.

An insurance agency. A school. A staffing company. A media/web development company. Entrepreneurs in the marijuana sector are building a wide variety of startup companies.  (read more)

Meet some other area medical marijuana based startups:

Finding MaryJane jobs

A new staffing agency, called MaryJane Agency, is another startup that allows interested workers to get a start in an industry that is expected to reach an employment rate of 250,000 people nationwide within the next two years.

“We have invested heavily in the latest technology to make sure we are offering the absolute best to our clients and candidates – including a sophisticated video interviewing platform,” said Robin Ann Morris, Founder & CEO of the new staffing agency she helped to create after running another employment agency for more than 25 years.

She’s using the Ohio program’s delayed time schedule to attend trade shows to learn more about medical marijuana and to network.

“I’ve learned so much more than I could ever have imagined in the past seven months, and I am so excited to be part of Ohio’s new Medicinal Marijuana Program.

“Not only are we betting the farm, but we are betting the horses, the chickens and the eggs!” she joked.

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