HANCOCK - In Hancock, where the sidewalks are often “rolled up” by dusk and the local economy has long leaned on tradition during the colder months, a quiet revolution is taking root in a 5,000-square-foot field. At Knotweed Farm Dispensary, the “devil’s Lettuce” has been rebranded as a community boon, a medical necessity, and, quite simply, a plant no different from a tomato.
Ben and Cindy Rinker, owners and operators of Knotweed Farm, are not your typical “potpreneurs.” With a background in science and a penchant for soil health, the Rinkers are navigating the complex, often contradictory world of New York’s legal cannabis market. Their business is a “micro-business,” a designation that allows them to act much like a craft brewer: cultivating, processing, distributing, and retailing their own product under one roof.
“It’s not your typical cannabis dispensary,” Rinker said. He has been privy to discussions with everyone from local skeptics to curious geriatric doctors. “We have four different licenses that we’re responsible for. We have cultivation (on their farm in the town of Hancock), we have processing, we have distribution, and we have retail (in the village of Hancock).”
Jumping Through the Hoops of Compliance
The journey to legality in Hancock was not an easy one. When New York first legalized recreational use, many rural municipalities opted out, fueled by what Rinker calls the “unknowns and the fear.” The village of Hancock, however, allowed for a single dispensary. Rinkers got the slot.
But with that privilege comes a staggering burden of regulation. Every seed planted and every edible sold is tracked through an “overarching software platform.” Rinker describes a process that would make most small business owners shudder: nine-page, full-compliance tests and third-party lab requirements, to name a few.
“We are required by the state to have our material tested in a third-party test,” Rinker explains. “It’s probably been tested three, maybe four different times for certain things... before it even makes it to the shelf.”
This high level of oversight is Rinkers’ primary weapon against the “sticker stores” - the gray-market shops that have popped up across the state, often selling unregulated products. For the Rinkers, the danger of the black market isn’t just legal; it’s chemical. Product safety is paramount.
“Before processing any of our harvest, we elect to conduct R & D {research and deveopment] testing for heavy metals on every batch to ensure we are free of metal toxicity. If it fails metal testing, we will not use it for smokable products. Instead, we will submit the material to a licensed processor where heavy metals and other toxins can be removed. The resulting distillate will then be used to make edibles and other cannabis non-flower products,” Ben said.
“Who’s watching over their shoulder to make sure they’re doing it right?” he asks, referring to unlicensed retail shops.
Chasing the “Grandpa” Demographic
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Knotweed Farm Dispensary is who is walking through the door. While the cultural image of cannabis often involves 21-year-olds in skate parks, Rinkers’ reality is much more gray.
“I would say that probably over 50% of our customers are 45 and up,” Ben says.
These are residents seeking relief from the aches and pains of rural life - the “hip that talks to you” when the weather changes. For these customers, cannabis is less about “Reefer Madness” and more about avoiding the liver-damaging effects of acetaminophen or the stomach erosion caused by ibrophen.
However, the absence of the younger crowd - the 21-to-27 demographic - worries the Rinkers.
“That number scares me a little bit,” Ben admits, “because if that demographic is using cannabis, where are they getting it? It’s coming from the illicit gray and black markets.”
The challenge is to bridge the gap between “indoctrination and information.” Rinker notes that the very word marijuana carries a heavy historical weight, rooted in 1930s-era xenophobia and the “Marijuana Taxation Act of 1932.” He prefers cannabis, the scientific name for a plant that was once a “renewable fibrous resource” used for everything from newspapers to medicine.
The “Entourage Effect” and the Science of Sleep
Inside the dispensary, the top sellers are edibles and flower-related products - actual “weed” grown on the farm. The number one seller? A “Mimosa” pre-roll - new branding of a “joint.”
But Rinker is quick to dispel the old-school distinctions between Sativa (the upper) and Indica (the downer).
“Cannabis is cannabis and a tomato is a tomato,” Ben says. The difference lies at the molecular level- the combination of cannabinoids like THC, CBD, CBN, and terpenes that create what scientists call the “entourage effect.”
“You have molecules working with molecules,” Rinker explains. “If you understand the chemistry... you have to understand: Did you get a good night’s sleep versus did you not? That’s your gauge.”
This scientific approach is what Rinker hopes will eventually lead to federal descheduling, which would open the doors for much-needed research.
“Right now the stigma is built on indoctrination and assumption. There is very little science,” he says.
He envisions a future where genetics can be manipulated to target specific ailments - medicinal plants tailored to the individual’s metabolism.
A Gateway to a Thriving Economy
While critics still lean on the “gateway drug” trope, Hancock is seeing a different kind of gateway: one to a thriving local economy. In nearby Sidney, a single dispensary reportedly contributed $100,000 in sales tax to the town in a single year - enough to buy a new truck for the highway department.
“Gateway to what?” Rinker asks. “I’m saying gateway to a thriving community, a thriving economy.”
At Knotweed Farm, the business employs a full-time manager, an overseer and several seasonal and part-time employees. They build their own soil using “clover compost, worms and cow poop,” creating a closed-loop ecosystem that avoids commercial fertilizers. It is a labor-intensive, local operation that keeps money in Delaware County.
Despite the fears of “dangerous elements” or increased crime, Ben points out the irony of their retail location in Hancock.
“What better placement could you be in the village of Hancock than right next to the police station and Marino’s gun store?” he laughs. “If we got issues, we can handle it.”
The Future: Seeds and Safety
Looking ahead, Rinker is frustrated by the slow pace of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). While New York residents are legally allowed to grow six plants at home, there is currently no legal way for them to buy the “genetics” (seeds or clones) from an OCM licensed nursery. Ben has contacted the OCM on several occasions to request the application for a cannabis nursery license.
“They haven’t even written up the application yet,” he says.
Without a legal source for seeds, the state is effectively forcing home-growers back into the black market, where “people name strains after wet sneakers” and nobody knows what they are truly getting.
For Rinkers and their team, the mission remains education. Whether it’s detailing the nine pages of lab results for a tin of gummies or dispelling the “gateway drug” trope, the goal is consumer safety.
“The real experience comes to the end-user who would like to know, not only that I did sleep well, but why,” Rinker says.
As the sun sets over the East Front Street retail shop, the lights at Knotweed Farm stay on - a beacon of regulated, scientific, and very local “green” in a place waking up to the potential of the plant.
“Keep learning,” Rinker said.
In Hancock, the lesson has only just begun.
For more information visit knotweedfarm.com
