Growing against the storm
Yes, growing our plant in Puerto Rico has always required adaptation, but today our
Crops are facing a perfect storm. Drought and water rationing pose a direct challenge to an operation where every plant depends on consistency. Adding to this is a vulnerable electrical system, precisely as we enter the most active period of hurricane season.
For cultivation, preparation means responsible water storage and irrigation systems
Efficient generators in optimal condition and plans to maintain ventilation, temperature, and humidity during power outages are essential. Losing hours of environmental control can quickly lead to stress, mold, or lost production.
But perhaps the most difficult storm is economic... Law 42-2017, “MEDICINAL Law”,
It stipulated that the Regulatory Board should determine the number of licenses taking into
Taking into account the size of the industry and the number of registered patients. In other words, the government itself established by law a mechanism to control market growth and prevent the number of licensed establishments from growing out of sync with demand.
However, this control was not implemented. Official data itself demonstrates this: in 2025, supply reached 113 million grams compared to a demand of only 86 million.
leaving 27 million grams of surplus. In addition, the licensed cultivation capacity
It exceeded by approximately 31% the amount needed to meet that demand.
The result is felt by small backyard farms and dispensaries: oversupply, rock-bottom prices, and ever-shrinking margins within a market whose own rules established
tools to control precisely that imbalance. And so, they ended up letting the
The industry is cannibalizing itself, ignoring its own rules and measures without anyone being able to do anything about it.
Between droughts, rationing, blackouts, hurricanes, and oversupply, growing cannabis in Puerto Rico today means much more than producing a good harvest.
It also means adapting, surviving, and resisting.
Enrique Domínguez
MASTER GROWER
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