About Terrapin Cannabis Company: Bringing Flower to the People

Company History: Pioneering National Cannabis Legalization

Where should you start learning about Terrapin cannabis? The beginning, of course. Terrapin was founded in Boulder, Colo. in 2009 during the “Wild West” days of medical cannabis reform. At the time, medical dispensaries operated without licensing. Our purpose was simply to serve cannabis patients in Colorado with affordable, quality products. We couldn’t imagine at the time what the industry would become! 

In 2010, after Colorado established a licensing program for medical dispensaries, Terrapin formally planted its flag. Two years later — when Colorado fought to become the first recreational cannabis state in the nation — Terrapin founder Chris Woods emerged as the largest individual donor from the industry to the campaign. That year, legal adult-use marijuana was born.

Terrapin would go on to become the first licensed adult-use operators in Boulder and Aurora in Colorado. It was just the beginning…  

Terrapin pioneered the cannabis industry at a time when innovation paved the way for others to get involved. From piloting the first seed-to-sale tracking systems in the country, to being one of the first cannabis companies to retail packs of pre-rolls, Terrapin took on all the challenges that come with a new industry. We helped set the stage for the global marketplace that the industry is today. 

After assisting in legalizing recreational cannabis in 2012, Terrapin set its sights on other emerging markets. Colorado and Washington had proven that the sky does not fall when marijuana is legalized, so other states started to follow. Terrapin would expand licensing to multiple markets, including Oregon, Michigan, New Jersey, Arizona and Missouri. But nothing really felt like home to us — except for Pennsylvania. 

A Cannabis Company Advocating for Community, Environmental Sustainability, Justice, and Social Change

Terrapin is more than just a cannabis company. We hope to lead the cannabis industry in a socially-conscious movement that supports thriving communities through advocacy, innovative environmental practices, responsible policy-making and collaboration with hyper-local, social justice community programs and efforts. We “Plant Local Roots” to be future oriented.

We work with communities to achieve their vision, innovate alongside leaders to challenge old-world thinking and educate partners for mutual benefit. Terrapin aims to leave a positive local impact by modeling authentic relationships — both within communities and within our industry. Change requires purpose, courage and humility; it requires that we practice these tenets together on a daily basis.  

The thing about Terrapin, our passion lies in leaving our world a better place; whether that’s through crafting exceptional medicine for patients or serving the nonprofits that work for their betterment. We work closely with local organizations, particularly those that support veterans and individuals facing food insecurity, encouraging our employees to volunteer with those groups while earning Paid Time Off for doing so.

We also offer annual financial grants to these groups to ensure they have the resources to continue serving the needs of the community. Terrapin is particularly proud of our work in Pennsylvania with Horses of Hope and The New Love Center, which support veterans and people facing food insecurity, respectively. Horses of Hope helps veterans transition back to civilian life through equine therapy, while The New Love Center hosts a regular food pantry for those in need. 

We also keep a constant eye out for how to benefit our direct patients. When one mother reached out about her child facing autism, we assisted in formulating an oil that had specific benefits for their child. Terrapin also formed a partnership with the child’s school, the Comprehensive Learning Center, which is specifically designed to engage and assist children with autism. As a result of this partnership, Terrapin has been a financial supporter of the AJ Foundation, a group that works to raise funds and awareness about autism in Pennsylvania.

Read about Terrapin Cannabis and AJ Foundation

Our work exists well beyond patient relationships and nonprofit support. We’re motivated by justice initiatives, human needs and political advocacy. Terrapin envisions a cannabis industry that levels the playing field for those who were disproportionately impacted by a flawed and systematically racist War on Drugs. Internally, we have employed anti-racism training for Terrapin leadership while also hosting an Anti-Racism Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee to implement strategies for a more inclusive workplace that values all employees.

As an anti-racism organization, we purposefully identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race and color and the impact(s) they have on our organization, systems, and people. Terrapin has been a key supporter of social equity discussions in Pennsylvania as it relates to cannabis reform, supporting events such as Black Cannabis Week and the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO). 

And when it comes to environmental justice, the cannabis industry must play an important role in paving the way for sustainability. Terrapin has participated in Strategic Energy Management Program audits that have resulted in energy-saving practices to curb our carbon footprint. At one Terrapin facility, we have reduced our energy consumption by 5,043,690 kWhs since 2021. As a result of this, we directly reduced our carbon emissions by 2,396 metric tons of CO2e. Terrapin looks forward to further energy-saving measures in Pennsylvania as we work toward a more sustainable industry and future.

Read about Terrapin Cannabis and Sustainability

About Terrapin’s Promise: Cultivating Quality and Innovation

At Terrapin, we take pride in an enduring commitment to our grassroots origins as a privately-owned company, setting us apart from our competitors. This commitment to ensuring that patients always come first with quality, consistent products guides our entire approach and philosophy as a cannabis company.

Our “patients first” guiding principle is exemplified through Terrapin’s comprehensive Research and Development program, which allows us to breed plants for medicine that have ranging benefits for a wide spectrum of patients in the program. It allows us to formulate products that have the most benefit through expertly-crafted whole flower, shake, troches, topicals, capsules, tinctures, concentrates, live concentrates, and vapes/oils.

We aim to enhance product quality consistently through data-driven horticultural practices, as well as by prioritizing the preservation and expansion of our genetic diversity. We do this both internally and externally through collaborations with exotic genetics partners such as Leiffa. Terrapin strives to broaden patient access through innovation as part of our role as industry leaders and our commitment to providing the patient community with the best quality and care in the program. 

Terrapin Has National Impact, But Pennsylvania Is Our Home

In 2017, Terrapin was awarded one of the first 12 licenses provided to grower/processors in the Commonwealth’s new medical cannabis program. And just like that, Terrapin became a Pennsylvania-focused company, taking all the lessons over the previous decade and applying it to developing the most highly-regarded brand in the state. 

Seven years after joining the Pennsylvania program, Terrapin is solely focused on the Commonwealth. We have shed operations in other states to focus on embracing Pennsylvania as our home and center of operations. Patients feel a connection to Terrapin and our brand, and the community has embraced us. With operations in rural Clinton County, we employ about 135 at our facility, with a strong commitment to positive community engagement.

Our purpose is to serve the patients of Pennsylvania. When patients call; we listen. We have heard from mothers of children with autism who need precisely-formulated medicine. We donate to charities that assist veterans with PTSD and ensure that those who served our country have access to jobs and affordable medicine. We support Pennsylvania students of Historically Black Colleges with tutoring to encourage diversity for the next generation of our industry. We do this because Pennsylvania is home — where Terrapin is proud to plant local roots.

Read more about Terrapin Cannabis in Pennsylvania here.      

Prioritizing Pennsylvania Patients

It was easy for Terrapin to embrace Pennsylvania, largely because the move was a homecoming for us. Terrapin’s founder and CEO, Chris Woods, is a Pennsylvania native who attended Penn State. His dream was always to bring cannabis reform and operations to his Keystone State. Having experience in Colorado’s medical and adult-use cannabis regulatory environment, Terrapin was quickly able to adapt to stringent Pennsylvania regulations, offering transparency in everything we do.

When concerns emerged over ingredients used in cannabis vapes, Terrapin offered to disclose all its ingredients, which earned praise from regulators and patients. We were allowed to keep distributing critical cannabis oil to patients, even when other companies were forced to pause operations.

Being open and honest with the Pennsylvania patient community allowed us to quickly integrate, showcased by the fact that our products can now be found in every single dispensary across the Commonwealth. We take pride in being one of the first grow facilities to enter the Pennsylvania medical marijuana program, and therefore we feel a responsibility and burden to exceed expectations.   

Looking to The Future: Our Eyes are on YOU, Pennsylvania

It’s sometimes hard to process all that we’ve accomplished already in Pennsylvania. But in many ways, we’ve barely begun. The future for Terrapin in Pennsylvania is bright, as we implement plans to further plant and solidify our brand in the Keystone State.

After six years of being prohibited from opening dispensaries in the state, a change in the law allows independent growers/processors such as Terrapin to open up to three retail locations. Terrapin is actively exploring options to take advantage of this opportunity, which will allow us to expand access and experiences for patients throughout the Commonwealth. 

Let’s also not forget that cannabis is still ILLEGAL in Pennsylvania for adult use. Considering more than 90 percent of Pennsylvania’s border is now surrounded by a legal marijuana state, we think the time is long past due for Pennsylvania lawmakers to act by ending prohibition. But we must do so in a way that prioritizes social equity, continues to provide access for patients, and lifts up local businesses while ensuring a balanced marketplace that accounts for supply and demand. 

Read about Terrapin Cannabis and advocacy here

In the meantime, Terrapin continues to be forward-thinking when it comes to innovation and product diversity. With research and development at the core of our endeavors, we are continuously seeking ways to enhance the quality and efficacy of our products. R&D is focused on production and breeding. As we move through Terrapin’s next era as a Pennsylvania cannabis company, our robust Research Department will pave the way for the future of cannabis product development.

We are aggressively exploring avenues for further improvement, such as incorporating RSO into our formulations. Collaborating with industry-leading partners like Leiffa, we also aim to expand our offerings with solventless extraction techniques. By embracing these advancements, we aim to elevate the potency, purity, and overall experience of our products, ensuring that Terrapin remains at the forefront of this innovative cannabis movement. 

Through it all, our goals remain focused on enhancing quality, preserving and expanding genetic diversity, and broadening patient access. These objectives underscore our dedication to innovation and excellence for the future of the cannabis industry while reaffirming our commitment to serving the patient community with the highest standards of quality and care. This is what sets us apart as a legacy cannabis company.   

Join In The Fun – There’s Plenty More to Come!

We invite you to learn all about Terrapin cannabis and join us on this journey so that our beloved and loyal supporters can be part of our ongoing success. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements as we prepare to open retail locations and continue our mission of providing safe, reliable, and innovative cannabis solutions to our valued customers.

If you have any questions about Terrapin cannabis, you can contact us here.