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In Episode 8 of the Legacies Podcast, hosts Tom Ritchie and Wes Bowles sit down with Jonathan Wilson, CEO and Founder of New Brunswick craft cannabis micro-cultivator Crystal Cure. Jonathan breaks down the science and operational advantages of soil-to-sale organic cultivation using proprietary “Adonis Living Soil” and details their curing protocols using specialized Grove bags to ensure terpene preservation and moisture consistency. He discusses the severe financial strain of Canada’s flat-rate excise tax, arguing that it is based on outdated wholesale valuations and penalizes craft micro-producers. Jonathan shares details of “Le Backdoor,” Crystal Cure’s farmgate retail store, explaining how direct-to-consumer models can serve as a vital pipeline for rural producers, and outlines the untapped potential of regional cannabis tourism in Atlantic Canada. The episode also features a masterclass in joint-rolling with expert Cody Van Gogh, demonstrating the “plumbing” technique to achieve an even, air-channeled burn.
Tom Ritchie Says: Hey, what’s going on, everyone? Check out what’s coming up this week on Legacies: “You’re not getting this, but we’re going to give away this wicked rolling tray!”
Tom Ritchie Says: Wes, can you see me right now?
Wes Bowles Says: I can’t! It looks like you’ve got a nuclear reactor in front of your camera!
Tom Ritchie Says: Our friends over at 1Spliff sent this awesome 1Spliff astronaut retail sign over to the studio. I commented on a post saying, “That’s so cool, we need a small version for our studio,” and they sent it right over!
Wes Bowles Says: One thing is for sure: they want it to be seen, and they’ve been fucking seen! We’re going to find a wicked spot for it in the background so it doesn’t blow our camera white balance out of the water.
Tom Ritchie Says: When I plugged it in, it lit up the entire room! Thank you to 1Spliff—we absolutely love it.
Tom Ritchie Says: This is our pre-4/20 special episode! In a few minutes, we’ll be joined by joint rolling master extraordinaire Cody Van Gogh, who’s going to teach us how to roll a proper joint. And later on, we have Jonathan Wilson from Crystal Cure in New Brunswick to break down living soil, craft curing, and the federal budget.
Wes Bowles Says: For the rolling session today, we want to be very careful for YouTube monetization reasons, so we will not be using real cannabis—we’ve got organic oregano and herbs on deck!
Tom Ritchie Says: RAW Canada sent over a massive package of gear just in time for Cody’s visit—rolling trays, endless paper rolls, cone cutters, and pokey wands.
Wes Bowles Says: Look at you, like Santa Claus! A lifetime supply of rolling papers—or in some people’s cases, maybe a week!
Tom Ritchie Says: We’re going to give away a complete RAW rolling tray bundle on X (Twitter). Thank you to RAW Canada for sharing the love!
Wes Bowles Says: Did you see the campaign Pizza Pizza did for 4/20? They created “Pre-Roll” pizza roll-ups for $3.49 for the 4/20 weekend, packaged just like joints with a modified THC pizza logo!
Tom Ritchie Says: People were commenting, “Why can’t cannabis brands market like this?” Because we legally can’t! Outside corporate brands can play on cannabis culture, but licensed operators are handcuffed by strict marketing prohibitions under the Cannabis Act.
Wes Bowles Says: Oh Henry! has done 4/20 campaigns in the past too. It’s great to see major corporations normalizing the space, but it highlights the double standard legal cannabis faces.
Tom Ritchie Says: It’s almost t-shirt season! Head over to thehighflyer.ca and check out licensed cannabis brand swag from Odo, Victoria Cannabis Company, Smoker Farms, and Royal Harvest. Suns out, guns out!
Tom Ritchie Says: Welcome, Cody Van Gogh! You’ve been creative joint rolling for nine years and judge the RAW rolling competition. Walk us through proper joint rolling!
Cody Van Gogh Says: Thanks for having me, guys! I started creative rolling in 2015. In legacy days, I made Nude Blunts for dispensaries. These days, I do commission sculptures and events, and I’ve judged the international RAW rolling contest for the past two years.
Cody Van Gogh Says: Today I’m teaching a foundational technique called plumbing. Plumbing creates a hollow air passage straight down the center of the joint. It’s the basis of all high-level rolls and 3D sculptures.
Tom Ritchie Says: Let’s get set up! I’ve got the finest dry oregano ready for the YouTube censors.
Cody Van Gogh Says: You lay your paper flat, place your herb, and lay a thin bamboo skewer directly in the center on top of the herb. When you lift the paper corners, the material wraps around the stick. You roll it as tight as possible without ripping the paper. When you pull the stick out, you leave an open airflow core.
Wes Bowles Says: Does the airflow passage make it burn cooler or hotter?
Cody Van Gogh Says: It actually burns hotter because air moves freely, but the massive advantage is that smoke travels straight to you instead of zigzagging through the herb. When smoke cools against bud, that’s what causes bitter resin to build up in the roach. With plumbing, your last puff tastes just as fresh as your first.
Tom Ritchie Says: Look at Wes over there—Wes has his joint rolled with a filter in the end, while mine collapsed into an old-school pregnant joint! [laughs]
Wes Bowles Says: I always pop my filter in at the very end after rolling! That’s my secret.
Cody Van Gogh Says: That’s how all the best rollers do it! Machines in the US like Roll Pros in Michigan are beginning to emulate this by rolling with coarser grinds, preserving trichome heads and delivering a far superior smoke.
Cody Van Gogh Says: Before I go, check out my mascot, Damien—a fully sculpted joint figure that comes with me to events across Canada. He’s a permanent showpiece!
Tom Ritchie Says: That is unbelievable craft! Cody, thank you so much for joining us. Happy 4/20!
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Tom Ritchie Says: Have you watched The Trades on Crave from the creators of Trailer Park Boys?
Wes Bowles Says: I’m a couple episodes in, and it’s hilarious! Ages ago, I was an asset manager at a steel factory working directly with tradespeople. The show is spot-on—the way trades operate, the dark humor, the beer, the bong hits, and keeping thankless industrial machinery running. It looks like parts were filmed in Hamilton around Stelco!
Tom Ritchie Says: It’s pure Canadian blue-collar comedy. Streaming on Crave—definitely check it out.
Tom Ritchie Says: Have you seen The Dope Box by Jazz Samra from Dank Reviews? Getting retail samples into dispensaries is a massive logistical headache for craft LPs. Reps spend thousands driving around dropping off samples to staff who aren’t even decision-makers.
Wes Bowles Says: Some dispensaries even put up signs saying ‘No Sales Reps.’ A curated monthly sample box with product knowledge sheets delivered directly to verified retailers is a really smart solution.
Tom Ritchie Says: Did you see what happened with Plaid Trout in Alberta? An AGLC inspector dinged a retail store because their counter tent card featured a cartoon “cosmic fish” in space, claiming it was an illegal inducement!
Wes Bowles Says: The cosmic fish inducement clause! Regulators are cracking down on pictures of cartoon trout while illicit dispensaries operate openly on the same street.
Tom Ritchie Says: Welcome back, everyone! We are joined by Jonathan Wilson—better known as J.W.—CEO and Head of Compliance at Crystal Cure in Shediac Cape, New Brunswick. J.W., thanks for joining us!
Jonathan Wilson Says: Thanks for having me on, guys! I’m joining you from Shediac, New Brunswick—the lobster capital of Canada!
Tom Ritchie Says: Last week, Lisa Bigioni left an anonymous question for you: “What was your very first cannabis consumption experience?”
Jonathan Wilson Says: I didn’t touch cannabis until I was 25! I grew up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where alcohol was king. I went down to a varsity hockey house party at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. My buddies set up hot knives on the stove, and we watched Super Troopers for the first time. The combination of hot knives and that hilarious opening scene blew my mind—I needed two years to recover from both! [laughs]
Jonathan Wilson Says: Later, while working 100-hour weeks in food and beverage management at the Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax and studying to become a certified sommelier, I turned to medical cannabis to wind down and sleep after brutal shifts. That was 17 years ago, and I never looked back.
Tom Ritchie Says: How did a sommelier transition into running provincial cannabis retail and craft cultivation?
Jonathan Wilson Says: I was Category Manager for Beer at the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation (ANBL). When legalization was announced, the provincial government tasked ANBL with creating Cannabis New Brunswick. I joined the executive project team, overseeing branding, omnichannel e-commerce, and store design.
Jonathan Wilson Says: We toured dispensaries in Denver and San Francisco to study retail flow. That’s when I realized how closely wine, beer, and cannabis align: terroir, soil microbiology, curing, aroma profiles, and customer education. In March 2020, right before COVID lockdowns, I joined Crystal Cure full-time.
Tom Ritchie Says: And Wes, did you know J.W. is fully Ample Organics Teal Certified?
Wes Bowles Says: Come on, no way! Ample Teal certified? That’s awesome.
Tom Ritchie Says: You’ve been one of the most vocal leaders in Canada breaking down the broken economics of cannabis taxation. What is the biggest hurdle?
Jonathan Wilson Says: Excise tax combined with overregulation and government control of the path to market. Small businesses in Canada face inflation and rising costs, but cannabis businesses also face banking discrimination—we can’t get standard lines of credit or traditional financing.
Jonathan Wilson Says: When the federal excise framework was built, they projected wholesale flower would sit at $10 per gram, setting excise tax at $1 per gram (10%). But today, market compression has dropped wholesale prices down to $1.50 to $3.00 per gram, while that fixed $1-per-gram tax remains unchanged! Excise tax is eating 35% to 40% of our top-line revenue. Even the best operator in the world cannot survive under those numbers.
Tom Ritchie Says: The 2024 Federal Budget dropped yesterday with zero mention of cannabis excise reform. What was your reaction?
Jonathan Wilson Says: It was the silence and inaction that stung most. The Cannabis Council of Canada, independent economists, and the Competition Bureau all submitted detailed recommendations showing that overtaxation fuels the illicit market and crushes craft producers. Yet the government froze beer excise taxes while ignoring cannabis entirely.
Wes Bowles Says: Government departments simply don’t listen to other government departments. Everyone operates in silos.
Jonathan Wilson Says: Exactly. And 75% of cannabis excise duties go to the provinces, so provinces treat cannabis like a cash cow without realizing that if you overtax the golden goose, you kill the eggs!
Tom Ritchie Says: What sets Crystal Cure apart when it comes to the product itself?
Jonathan Wilson Says: We grow 100% in certified living soil full of beneficial biology and microbes. Just like soil defines the terroir of fine wine, living soil produces loud, expressive cannabis with complex terpene profiles that synthetic hydroponics cannot match.
Jonathan Wilson Says: Post-harvest is where most producers drop the ball. We hang-dry whole plants and cure exclusively in patented TerpLoc Grove Bags. Our flagship flower, like our Red Velvet Runtz, undergoes a full 90-day cold cure! A 90-day cure locks in moisture, eliminates green chlorophyll, and preserves monoterpenes so the aroma explodes when you open the bag.
Tom Ritchie Says: Tell us about your Farmgate store in Shediac Cape.
Jonathan Wilson Says: We opened Le Backdoor at our facility under Cannabis NB’s progressive Farmgate program. The name is an homage to local Acadian culture and dialect (Chiac) as well as legacy cannabis history.
Jonathan Wilson Says: Farmgate lets us sell directly to customers like a local butcher shop. Over 25% of the flower we sell at Farmgate tests under 20% THC—because when consumers can see, smell, and touch fresh flower, the arbitrary 30% THC obsession disappears! For 4/20 this Saturday, we’re opening up and absorbing the $1-per-gram federal excise tax for our customers so they can see what fair pricing looks like.
Tom Ritchie Says: Shediac is 20 minutes from Parlee Beach and Aboiteau Beach. Why hasn’t New Brunswick tourism embraced cannabis Farmgate?
Jonathan Wilson Says: Last summer we had visitors from every Canadian province and multiple international countries. Farmgate should be integrated into provincial coastal and culinary road trips alongside local lobster boils and craft breweries!
Tom Ritchie Says: What message do you have for the cannabis community across Canada?
Jonathan Wilson Says: Support small, independent businesses! Vote with your dollars. Independent retailers and craft cultivators cannot survive selling at a loss forever. Buy from local shops, visit Farmgate stores, and lobby your MLA and MP to support craft cannabis in your community.
Tom Ritchie Says: What is your anonymous question for next week’s guest?
Jonathan Wilson Says: “Outside of your own company, which Canadian cannabis company is doing it the best overall?”
Wes Bowles Says: And the answer can’t be themselves! Though I’m sure Trudeau voted for himself! [laughs]
Tom Ritchie Says: J.W., you are an absolute champion for Canadian craft cannabis! Wes, give us the details on the giveaway.
Wes Bowles Says: We’re giving away a complete RAW rolling tray bundle on X (Twitter). Follow @LegaciesPodcast, @CrystalCure, and @RAWCanada on X, like, comment tagging a friend, and repost the clip to enter!
Tom Ritchie Says: Thank you to Jonathan Wilson and Cody Van Gogh for joining our pre-4/20 special. Check out thehighflyer.ca for licensed brand gear, subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and follow us on X. Have a wonderful and safe 4/20, everyone! Peace!
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Founder
Jonathan Wilson founded Crystal Cure, a Canadian cannabis brand focused on quality curing processes. He appears on Legacies twice (Episodes 8 and 20), covering excise tax, the 2024 federal budget, farmgate retail, and the compliance challenges facing craft producers.
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<div class="brandpage"> <!-- MODULE 0 — breadcrumb --> <nav class="bp-crumbs" aria-label="Breadcrumb"> <a href="/">Home</a><span>›</span><a href="/brands/">Brands</a><span>›</span>Crystal Cure ...
Learn More About Partner ↗Crystal Cure is a Canadian cannabis brand founded by Jonathan Wilson, focused on quality curing processes and craft production methods.
Jonathan Wilson of Crystal Cure argues farmgate retail allows producers to connect directly with consumers, control the brand experience, and capture better margins than selling through provincial distribution systems.
