If you’ve ever driven from California to Oregon by way of Interstate 5, it’s likely that you’ve passed right by the Rogue Valley. This region of southern Oregon, comprised of the two bordering Josephine and Jackson counties, is home to the Rogue River, a 215-mile waterway that moves westward until it hits the coast. Unlike more prominent areas of the Pacific Northwest, such as Portland, Oregon, or almost all of Washington state, southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley has a unique climate perfect for farming.
Jessica Clements, founder of Güd Gardens, has been cultivating cannabis in Oregon since 2010.
“This little pocket that I’m in on the Rogue River, just outside of Grants Pass, is a small mini valley of flat, arable land, all irrigated by the Rogue River,” Clements says. “When I found the property, I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘This is insane. This is everything I wanted.’”
High Times Magazine, March 2024
The Emerald Triangle is known worldwide for its ideal growing conditions, but Clements believes that southern Oregon also shares that benefit.
“California gets all the clout for being, you know, some of the best climate to grow cannabis, but southern Oregon is this little pocket like microclimate, that is very similar to [Northern] California’s,” Clements says. “And so [when] you think of Oregon, you think Portland, Seattle, the Pacific Northwest, it’s just like rainy, and you know, kind of cool and dark in the winter. But we get incredible amounts of sunshine. In the summertime, we have a long growing season.”
Clements started by cultivating medical cannabis but immediately knew she wanted to move into recreational cannabis once voters approved Measure 91 in 2014. Recreational cultivation licenses in the state were granted starting in 2016, and in 2017, Clements applied for a license, was approved, …
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Author: Ashley Kern / High Times
