Alexander Farnsworth

Even though I’m a high school dropout, I’m also a rule follower. I tried cannabis for the first time at 15. I was so scared of getting caught. But then, pretty quickly, we were regularly smoking in my car at lunch—out of an apple, of course—before our last class of the day, which was film class. Those were some of my best days.

I definitely grew up in the era of D.A.R.E. No one in my family really smokes. There was a lot of fear and secrecy surrounding cannabis at that time, because if you’re a 16-year-old who gets pulled over with a pipe in your car in Utah, you’re screwed. I was already grouped with the outcasts—I was not part of the popular conservative movement. But I think because I was a closeted queer kid, I was already used to that shame and secrecy. So it was pretty natural. Co-mingling shame.

I first visited Great Barrington in 2012, right when Colorado was legalizing. It looked like a mini Park City to me. I thought, This would be the perfect place for a pot shop. It felt resort-y. Something that’s nice about launching in a resort area is that people are often on vacation when they visit you, so you can get them more fully immersed in an experience, similar to a hotel.

I was working with André when the Standard West Hollywood was going to be the first hotel in America to have a dispensary. We didn’t get through all the approvals, but The Standard brand was a very cannabis-friendly environment. We were selling 14-karat gold rolling cones in the lobby shop 10 years ago. It was in that environment where I realized, Oh, cannabis can be flipped on its head.

So I had this seedling of a dispensary. I made some investments in the space in early 2016, and was starting to understand the economic side of the business. Then, in November of 2016, Massachusetts voters legalized cannabis. And so again, it was the right time, right place—I have a lot of timing and luck on my side. I started to explore the idea more deeply and ultimately kicked things off at the end of 2017.

Working in an office like André’s or on hundred million dollar development projects, which I did later with my own agency, you have entire teams at your disposal. As a one-man show—and then a two or three or four-person show—it’s definitely harder to get things done. But I also wasn’t anticipating the amount of local politics and hoops that come with cannabis. Sometimes those hoops are exacerbated in the media—getting zoning approval in New York City for a hotel isn’t easy either—but if it were any other store besides cannabis or alcohol, I could have probably opened it in a month.

So, in a way, the extended timeline worked to our advantage because we had a lot of time to perfect our concept and to really build it authentically. But COVID hit the week after we signed with our contractor to build the shop. We had already been waiting around almost 18 months without a word from the state. And, mind you, we were supposed to be somewhat of a priority applicant given that we have queer ownership. That status is no longer recognized by the state for whatever reason. 

We ended up building the majority of the showroom ourselves. Me, my older brother, who runs our operations, my younger sister, who’s our brand manager, and then our younger brother. That’s how we spent the first summer of COVID. Ultimately, we opened Farnsworth Fine Cannabis during COVID with masks on, which was definitely not part of the uniform plan.

My older brother moved out here about four years ago from Portland, Oregon, where he had been living and working in the cannabis industry. He’s the scientist of the family. He really understands the biology of the plant and how that impacts its quality. I don’t think Farnsworth would be what it is today without his experience in Oregon because they have, in my opinion, some of the best cannabis available. Being able to visit him, see the shops, and try some great flower was certainly a bonding experience for us. I was going to do this either way, with or without him, but I’m so glad he jumped on board.

We have a very long-term vision for Farnsworth: in 10 or 20 years, you’ll be able to walk into any gas station in America and pick up a pack of Farnsworth cannabis cigarettes. Until then, in the near future and more immediate future, we’re developing an edible. It’s fast-acting and comes in three effects. We see it as the smoker’s mint. It’s a more discreet and portable option than smoking.

We also have a global vision for cannabis. So many different communities, countries, and places have their own unique relationship to the plant in terms of how it’s either hindered or helped them. And that’s one of the reasons our showroom stocks vintage Dunhill and DuPont smoking accessories from England, Japanese ashtrays and hash pipes, and little smokers boxes from Tangier. Cannabis has been used across the globe for much longer than this country has existed, and as Americans, it’s so easy to forget that, and to be so self-centered.

Less than 50 years ago, people like Dennis Peron, Harvey Milk, Allen Ginsberg, Brownie Mary, and many others were advocating and fighting for cannabis access for HIV and AIDS patients, and for their brothers and sisters who were suffering. We know that queer history, and especially queer history in cannabis, is not being taught in public schools in America. My baby sister, who is also queer, just turned 18. It wasn’t taught in her high school, or at the college she’s going to in Iowa. And history, unless it’s spoken of, tends to get lost.

Once a year, I do mushrooms in earnest. If I’m going to do a dose, I tend to do it in the summer in nature. I’ve actually never been on a great mushroom microdose regimen, but I 100% believe in having access—and in having products that are tested for quality and dosage. Think of Rose Delights. If a Rose Delight was mushroom-infused, that’s the kind of mushroom that I want to take. To me, that’s a no-brainer. It’s done. But I’m currently drinking a cold brew infused with cannabis and this is something I would advocate for people for daily use.

A lot of the nation’s advocacy around mushrooms and other substances was done in Cambridge and at Harvard. Massachusetts has a unique perspective and relationship to it, but I think it will be a long time before Massachusetts co-mingles cannabis and mushrooms. So are mushrooms on our roadmap immediately? No. Is it out of the realm of possibility? Also, no.

My great, great uncle was a man named Philo T. Farnsworth. He was born in Utah and, at the age of eight, moved to Idaho. At 12, he was working the potato fields in Idaho when he had the idea that images could be cut up like crop lines and then put back together somehow. He made a sketch of it and took it to his science teacher, who told him, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but keep sketching. Good for you.”

Like me, Philo was a Jack Mormon, which means that you don't go to church, you drink, you smoke. Ultimately, in a studio on Green Street in San Francisco, in a gorgeous building that’s still there today, he became the first person in the world to electronically project images using a glass vacuum tube. There was a big lawsuit with RCA and he ended up winning a seven-year exclusivity patent on the electronic television. But then the Second World War hit and he went to wartime-only manufacturing. Because of that and other things, the Farnsworth television was never commercially successful.

To think that Philo had this moment where he stood outside in a group of people and watched the moon landing on a device that he created but was never recognized for is heartbreaking. But ultimately he continued inventing. He died with hundreds of patents to his name, including some involving quantum physics and using nuclear fusion to create energy without fossil fuels. I think the saddest part is that had he been more commercially successful, he would’ve had the funding for inventions that perhaps could’ve had an even bigger impact than the television. 

What I think is important about Philo’s legacy and what inspired me as a child, and certainly us today as young entrepreneurs, is that he died penniless. The economics of cannabis are very difficult, and there’s no Farnsworth fortune. Philo was a lone inventor battling corporate greed, the little guy was battling the big guys.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Alexander Farnsworth photographed by Ryan Duffin at Farnsworth Cannabis in Great Barrington. If you like this Conversation, please feel free to share it with friends or enemies. Subscribe to our newsletter here.