Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Rohr.
Hi Zach, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Made in Minnesota, Minnesota has always been my home. I was born and raised in the small town of Hastings, where I went to high school and now live. I have always had aspirations to succeed and to make a positive impact on the others around me. I had parents who truly valued hard work, family, friends, and community. After graduating from high school, I earned an athletic scholarship at Ohio University, where I was a student-athlete on the wrestling team. After multiple head injuries and a few surgeries, I realized that my athletic pursuit was over, so I came back home to Minnesota and finished my education at St. Cloud State University. After kicking the tires on what to do after graduating, I reinvested into my education and obtained a Juris Doctorate at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul. I went to law school but knew that I wouldn’t practice law. I studied FDA regulations and the cannabis industry and set sights on inspiring long-overdue change in my local community.
-Cannabis as Medicine
My first introduction to medicinal cannabis was nothing short of a miracle. I have two younger cousins who suffer from Angelman syndrome, a complex genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system. This disease can induce seizures, which was happening to the oldest of the two girls. After running out of solutions to help with the seizures, my cousins’ parents turned to a community of parents called “Angel Parents,” who turned them onto CBD and suggested that it might work for the oldest daughter who was experiencing seizures. This was when CBD was getting popular. My family members were nervous because of the misconception that it would be like “giving their child marijuana,” but they had tried everything else. Any hesitation quickly vanished because the CBD started working. The seizures were dramatically reduced, and my cousin’s overall health improved. Our family was amazed. And, although it was not a cure for Angelman syndrome, CBD is contributing to quality for my cousins.
-Living through America’s Drug Crisis
Throughout high school, I witnessed classmates get addicted to prescription opioids and street drugs. I watched friends being prescribed methadone before they were old enough for a driver’s license. Just a few years later, after college, I suddenly lost a close friend (who was a former college teammate) to a drug overdose. What started as a legal opioid prescription to manage pain ended in a heroin addiction and death. In quick succession, I lost another close friend (and college teammate) to a black-market anti-anxiety medication. The loss of my two close friends still profoundly pains me to this day. I miss them every day and would do anything to have them back. My two friends were incredible people. They grew up in loving families and had great friends. They were both honor roll students with ambitions to succeed professionally. They were also multiple-time state champions and Division One athletes who had earned a scholarship to attend college. They were not bad people; they got caught up in a drug crisis that has taken the lives of so many.
-Fueling Change and Inspiring Hope
The unlikely mixture of miracle and tragedy happened at the perfect time in my life. When I lost my friends, I started to experience a steady decline in my health. After seeing multiple doctors and specialists, it became apparent that my years of wrestling and grinding through injuries were catching up with me. I was in a lot of physical pain, which was affecting my mental health. With my medical history and a litany of injuries, I could have easily gone to the doctor and obtained a prescription to help manage the pain and anxiety. But, I had already seen what prescription opioids and anti-anxiety medications had done to my friends and community. Instead of going down the route of pharmaceutical drugs, I started to make major lifestyle changes, one of which was using cannabis with CBD oil. After CBD alleviated my pain and my mental health began to improve, I became intrigued with the medicinal properties of the cannabis plant and started to study it. I wanted to learn everything. In my final year of law school, I became an expert on Cannabis, CBD, and the FDA. I read up on the politically-fueled history of how cannabis came to be classified as a drug. Not only did I know things from a legal standpoint, but I was up-to-date on the science and manufacturing techniques. I had educated myself on how to grow cannabis in Minnesota properly. I deeply believed, and still believe to this day, that CBD and cannabis can create positive change and hope in my community – so I set out to create Minnesota’s number-one cannabis company. In our first year, Minny Grown won the Nation’s first-ever CBD Cup, and we have since become the leading hemp company in the Midwest, United States.
-Minny Grown: Minnesota, USA
What started as a family journey has now become a journey for thousands. Today, Minny Grown continues as a family-run company focused on helping others in the local community. I’m incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished in such a short time – and we’re just getting started. The success stories of our customers are what inspires us every day. We are creating positive change and will continue to do so as we strive to bring more Minnesotans the highest quality cannabis products. If you have your own Minny Grown success story, I’d love to hear from you: [email protected]
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No. Bumpy would be an understatement. When we started the company in 2019, we lost everything we invested. The money was gone, business was tough, and COVID was in full swing. It was a bad dream that did stop in July of 2022 when MN legalized hemp-derived THC edibles. We caught our lucky break and have been grinding to ensure the success continues for years to come.
As you know, we’re big fans of Minny Grown. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
Our approach to the cannabis industry is simple – local first, always. The Minny Grown story starts in the small farming community of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, where our family has cultivated the land for over 100 years. We now grow our hemp seeds in the Cannon River Valley, where we are blessed with rich, organic soil. After hand harvesting our hemp flowers, we then process them into premium THC and CBD oil at our state and federally-licensed facility steps away from our sun-grown hemp field. With a proper mix of science, passion, and craft, our Minny Grown team strives to create the world’s finest cannabis products.
What were you like growing up?
Ambitious and hard-working
Contact Info:
- Website: www.minnygrown.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnygrown/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MinnyGrownTM
