Smoke Local: Prairie Grass Cannabis

Alberta is home to a range of local licensed producers bringing the best of what the province has to offer to the Canadian cannabis market – grass grown on the prairies.

Prairie Grass Cannabis is located on a family farm near Taber, Alberta, in what co-owner Rebecca Thomson calls prime farming country. Their 2,200-square-foot cultivation and production facility operates alongside the family-run commercial crop business, which has been in operation for nearly a century.

“Prairie Grass is first and foremost a family-run business,” says Thomson. “We are fourth generation farmers, we have deep roots in our agricultural history.”

A true pandemic project, Prairie Grass became fully licensed in February of 2020. “We got licensed, and then everything hit the fan,” laughs Thomson. However, despite additional challenges posed by COVID-19, Prairie Grass has experienced positive growth over the last two years and remains optimistic and excited for the future of their operation. “We’ve had great success and support from the cannabis community so far,” she says.

Olivia Penner and Rebecca Thomson, sisters and co-founders of Prairie Grass Cannabis.

The business was founded by Thomson and her sister, Olivia Penner, both of whom have backgrounds in healthcare – something that has influenced their approach to Prairie Grass from the beginning. “We truly believe in the therapeutic benefits of cannabis,” says Thomson. “When the time came for us to come back to the farm, we wanted to put our unique footprint on it and incorporate our passion for cannabis and patient care.”

This passion is evident in the products Prairie Grass has introduced to the Canadian market in the past year. This includes their dried cannabis flower, Bruce Banner, as well as CBD oils crafted from their outdoor sunshine grown hemp field. “When it comes to CBD oil, we believe ours is unique and stands apart in the market as we control the entire process, from cultivation of hemp in the field to processing and packaging for distribution,” says Thomson.

Prairie Grass also supplies Pods, the first suppository to be made available on the Canadian market. Available in two forms, the Relief Pods are specially formulated to deliver 10 mg of full-spectrum THC, while the Eve Pods deliver 40 mg of full-spectrum CBD. “We’re very passionate about the potential for this product,” says Thomson, who highlights education and information as key pillars in the Prairie Grass campaign. “Pods are a great additional option for people who don’t want to smoke cannabis or consume edibles.”

2022 promises to be an exciting year for Prairie Grass as they continue to expand their production – including the introduction of Prairie Grass prerolls – and focus on fostering education and informative discussion surrounding cannabis and its boundless possibilities for personal health and wellness.

To learn more about Prairie Grass and supporting local growers in Alberta, visit prairiegrass.com.