PA Cannabis Consulting

Aaron Thames · Based in the Poconos, PA

Pennsylvania Cannabis Consulting

25+ years in licensed cannabis, now helping new Pennsylvania operators get licensed, built and compliant, if and when Pennsylvania legalizes adult use.

For first-time applicants, small growers and processors, landlords and municipalities. Not the MSOs.

Email Aaron Call 541-609-6660
  • 25+ yrs licensed cannabis
  • 2 of California's first dispensaries, co-founded
  • 100% compliance record
  • 5 states consulted: CA, OR, CO, NM, MA

You're not hiring one person

You're hiring decades of experience, a Rolodex, and relationships built since the mid-'90s. Those relationships are what get small operators discounts, sponsorships and opportunities, the things that make it possible to compete with hedge-fund-backed MSOs.

Services

Project-based consulting, or a full-time role on your project.

License applications

Planning, writing and assembling applications for Pennsylvania's adult-use program as it takes shape.

Facility design

Layout and build-out planning for facilities from 1,000 to 80,000 sq ft.

SOPs

Standard operating procedure libraries for cultivation, inventory tracking, maintenance and supply chain.

Compliance & audit prep

State and municipal reporting, seed-to-sale tracking, inspection and audit readiness.

Cultivation

Indoor, outdoor, greenhouse, light deprivation and mixed light. Any method: organic and no-till, Korean natural farming, soil, coco, soilless, hydro and aeroponics. Better quality and yield, lower overhead.

Environmental controls

Dialing in and managing the grow environment for premium, consistent results: VPD, temperature, humidity, CO2 and airflow. I also train your team to run it.

Vendors & specialists

Long relationships with soil, coco, nutrient and lighting suppliers, so you get the right inputs at the right price. When a project needs a specialist, such as a Korean natural farming expert, I bring them in.

One-on-one grow coaching

For home growers and patients where state law allows. Hourly sessions or packages, from your first few plants onward. I taught cultivation classes for five to six years in California, at Berkeley Patients Group and California Patients Group in L.A.

Marketing, branding & packaging

Brand, packaging and marketing that move product, from the person who built and marketed Nor Kali / So Kali, California's first pre-packaged branded line.

Business & regulatory strategy

Where to start, what to build first, and how to work with investors and partners.

Access to capital

Introductions to lenders and private capital that fund cannabis businesses, for projects whose numbers make sense. Help preparing the package lenders want to see.

Genetics & propagation

Access to unique genetics, from late-'80s classics to today's breeders. Breeding programs and propagation, including nursery/clone operations where your license allows, built to hit 97–99% clone success.

Team training

Getting staff ready for day one: cultivation, compliance and operating procedures.

Experience

  1. 1995–96

    Co-founded two of California's first dispensaries

    Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (1995–96) and the Fairfax Buyers Club (1996), Marin County's first.

  2. 1999–2001

    U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

    Investigations staff on Capitol Hill: government relations and policy from the inside.

  3. 2001

    U.S. Supreme Court

    Sat beside Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative co-founder Jeff Jones during the cooperative's U.S. Supreme Court arguments (United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 2001).

  4. 2002–06

    Berkeley Patients Group

    Operations across retail, security and member intake.

  5. 2003–07

    Nor Kali / So Kali

    The first pre-packaged, branded product line in California's market, long before packaging was required.

  6. 2021–25

    Director of Cultivation, OLCC-licensed Oregon producer

    Ran cultivation and operations, wrote the SOP library, and kept a 100% compliance record.

  7. Multi-state

    Consulting

    Operators in California, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico and Massachusetts, on facilities from 1,000 to 80,000 sq ft.

B.A. with honors, Emory University. Lives in the Poconos, Pennsylvania.

Team & Network

Every job gets the right specialist from a bench of cannabis veterans.

Debby Goldsberry

License applications & writing

40+ years in cannabis. Founder of the Cannabis Action Network, co-owned and ran Berkeley Patients Group, and ran Magnolia in Oakland.

Dean Holter

Business counsel

Cannabis business attorney.

Plus a wider network: business attorneys, nutrient and lighting industry partners, and packaging and branding designers.

Policy & Government

For legislators, regulators and municipal leaders: if and when Pennsylvania legalizes adult use, Aaron is available to answer questions and advise as the program is built, drawing on his years on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee staff and 25+ years inside licensed cannabis in other states.

Get in touch

Let's talk about where you're starting

Applicant, grower, processor, landlord or town: reach out directly.