Cannabis in Coachella with Carlos “Los” Arias
Los Arias, Co-founder and Co-CEO at Green Horizons, joins David Belsky for episode 24 of FlowerHire’s Talent in Cannabis sunset sesh.
This one was one for the books, friends. Los Arias and David Belsky talk about:
- Los Arias’ entrance into the cannabis industry
- Why the city of Coachella is welcoming cannabis
- Why the city of Coachella is the perfect spot for a cannabis facility
- Why the city of Coachella needs cannabis
- How plant medicines saved Los Arias life
- Why Los Arias thinks plant-medicines will change the world and cannabis is the first step
Below is a summary of the conversation. Watch the video above for the full interview.
What is Desert Horizon?
Desert Horizon was my first entry into the California cannabis industry. Desert Horizon is an indoor grow, about 20,000 square feet, producing about 3000 pounds per year. It’s commercial, business-to-business, zero wholesale, and grows for several of the top California cannabis brands.
I started small with Desert Horizon at about 20,000 feet. I raised the capital for Desert Horizon. I raised 8.5 million dollars and it came from one single investor – my best friend.
Green Horizons is the big vision and will be ground-breaking. Construction is happening for what will become a million square feet in the city of Coachella over the next 2-3 years. Construction started mid-July.
The vision began two years ago, but it was a terrible time to raise money. Then the market was never right with COVID for a greenfield development
David Belsky, CEO of FlowerHire says, “Green Horizons will be one of the eight cannabis wonders of the world.”
Los Arias’ response, “That’s the hope, my friend.”
Is Coachella a good place to grow cannabis?
The Coachella Valley area has had a lot of cultivation for many years.
Palm Springs is the most recognizable city there. And it gets 340 days of sunshine a year.
The assumption is that it’s a great place to grow cannabis because of the constant sunshine. But there are numerous dynamics that need to be considered. The lack of power is the biggest hurdle. But Los Arias’ partner, Michael Meade, is a local Coachella resident and has a plan.
How the city of Coachella embraced cannabis with Green Horizons
The city of Indio is where the Coachella music festival happens. However, the city of Coachella has not financially benefited from the music festival – although they have yet to harness being a global brand.
Michael Meade told them it’s time to embrace cannabis. He went to the city and said, “I’m going to buy a million square feet, I’m going to entitle it, bring the sewers, and bring all the power.” The city of Coachella was onboard to monetize its already existing global brand.
Why a scale development in Coachella will be competitive for years to come
Typically, to go scale, you need power which makes scaling in the desert hard. Power is limited in the Coachella Valley area. In Coachella, we’re on an imperial irrigation district (IID) a water company that also does power – this makes scaling possible. It’s 25-30 percent less expensive. Magnify that at a million square feet which equates to about 31 acres of land.
How did cannabis come into your life?
The root of it all was my home life. My mom is Brazilian and my dad was Cuban. On my mom’s side, there are generations of experience working with plant medicines. So I was exposed to various plant medicines like cannabis and ayahuasca very early. I also learned that I have a green thumb.
Then, it came to a point where I realized that everything my mom said was right.
For the second part of the interview, go listen to Los Arias tell his story himself – it’s powerful.
Listen to the full interview to hear Los Arias describe how plant medicine:
- Supported Los Arias during his battle with cancer
- Gave him focus in both his life and business
- Has helped him to help people see the power of indigenous plant medicine.
- Has been an inspiration for Green Horizons