Arizona chef Payton Curry has been making marijuana-infused salves, tinctures, edibles and oils as a hobby long before medical marijuana became legal in Arizona. That’s why he decided to start Flourish, a marijuana-infused edibles company.
Curry moved to Scottsdale years ago, opened a high-end restaurant and continued his hobby of making marijuana extracts, according to San Francisco Chronicle. Following a DUI that showed his blood alcohol level as 4-times the legal limit, he realized a lifestyle change was in order.
Curry used some of his own marijuana oil recipes and found relief from his chronic pain. He said, “I found a way to metabolize cannabis in a way that made it safe for me to be out in public.”
After Arizona legalized medical marijuana, Curry started using his cooking chops to combine upscale food with marijuana. He then started teaching workshops to help medical marijuana patients make infused tinctures, butters, and non-psychoactive marijuana juices and salves.
“I got them to see (cannabis) as a fruit-bearing vegetable, with flowers and seeds instead of a tomato or eggplant,” said Curry. It “is a plant as much as it is a medicine.”
Flourish secured its permit to produce marijuana-infused edibles in Arizona in July 2016. They’ve done so well in Arizona, that they’ve already expanded into California. The gourmet edibles company produces its own extracts and oils using a CO2 extraction process. The marijuana they use is grown without chemicals, herbicides or pesticides.
What also sets Flourish apart from other edibles companies is that, “We incorporate everything through homogeneous batters. All of the edibles are made from scratch,” said Curry.
Flourish plans to expand into other states soon.
Photo: SFChronicle.com