GROUNDBREAKING CANNABIS: Owners, consumers celebrate opening of new pot shop in the Butte

BUTTE — Matanuska Cannabis Company broke into the Valley scene as cannabis distributors this weekend.

Co-owners Chad Ragsdale and Patrick McKay opened the retail facility with a window into their grow room on July 5, 2018, exactly one year after they purchased the property with intent to start a new pot shop in the Butte.

Ragsdale has a long history as a cannabis grower, cultivating in Washington for medicinal use for years in the early 2000s. Ragsdale would supply his neighbor, who suffered from Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and other AIDS patients in the area, and gave the surplus to the medical facilities.

With the new retail facility and cultivation operation in the Butte, Ragsdale hopes to make a mark on the Alaskan cannabis scene as purveyors of fine cannabis. The retail facility offers a window into the grow room which features nearly 240 plants and a possible yield of 20 to 30 pounds of product to be harvested in early fall.

The grow room features a variety of different strains of cannabis, from master kush to blue dream to white fire OG. Ragsdale and McKay have been experimenting as well. They found two strains that were very different and grew a new strain they call “Gandalf Haze.” Ragsdale is an admitted Tolkien nerd, and pays his homage to having flipped through the authors works a handful of times with the name of one of his favorite new strains.

Ragsdale hopes to offer the finest cannabis from cultivators around the state, as well as concentrates, edibles, and c02 cartridges from local canna-businesses. Ragsdale is happy to have the negative stigma against cannabis mostly faded, and the legalization of recreational use in the state.

Ragsdale modeled his retail facility after popular multi-national corporations that he has worked for. Everyone working in the retail facility has a clean, collared shirt on. He wants to stay away from the negative elements of cannabis culture that have followed users for decades and make a more professional environment in his facility.

Matanuska Cannabis Company also features locally blown glass and local art depicting the rise of cannabis legality in the state, as well as a similar piece that details the growth in popularity of the plant worldwide. Chelsea Cox, a Butte resident, was eager to shop at the new retail facility at the soft open on Thursday.

“The staff was amazing. I enjoyed chatting with all of them. It was a great shop. I've been waiting for MCC to open for a while...I always like trying new places for my cannabis but it's also nice being able to shop close to my house,” said Cox.

The grand opening Saturday featured demonstrations from local glass blowers out in the parking lot. Ragsdale hopes that one day, with the possibility of on-site consumption legalized, he may be able to set up a brewpub type atmosphere in the back yard of what used to be Al’s Auto Body, where Matanuska Cannabis Company sits now. Ragsdale dreams of a day when customers can sit on the back patio and enjoy buds under the face of Pioneer Peak. Saturday’s grand opening featured 20 percent off all prices.

“It’s a smoking deal,” said Ragsdale.

Ragsdale’s journey to becoming a legitimate canna-business owner in the Mat-Su Valley was not without hard work, and he warns those who want to enter into the business of the extreme amounts of labor involved with cannabis cultivation. His extensive experience in retail helped form the face of the business.

“The coolest thing to see was their grow rooms happening and to see all that going on. That was really cool. I always knew I wanted to have that,” said Ragsdale of his 2010 visit to Amsterdam.

Ragsdale hopes that the professional atmosphere and experience in the industry will help provide quality products and service, and that the discreet location of the retail facility will help bring customers to his store.

“We want to make our impact on the Valley as somebody that’s here to stay and they provide great service, provide great access to great strains, and premier buds,” said Ragsdale. “Who would hate coming to work to this every day?”

Contact Frontiersman reporter Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com.