Regardless of the name, it grows by the ton in Area 420, a 420-acre cannabis business park located in the southwestern Colorado town of Moffat.
To some residents, it has proven a flower; to others, a weed.
“There are some differences between Area 420 and the Town of Moffat,” said Sergio Negrin, the co-founder and CEO of Miracle Farms, a family-owned farm that’s been growing in Area 420 for more than two years.
The park, which touts itself as “the world’s largest collection of independently owned commercial cannabis operators,” opened in 2018 and has since divided locals over the positives and negatives that come with outsider growth in a small, rural town.
Area 420 rents 1-acre parcels of land that are zoned for cannabis cultivation. There are ongoing disputes around Area 420’s responsibility for providing utilities like water and power, some of which are currently playing out in court.
Growers and residents alike can agree that in the company’s short, five-year existence, Area 420 has greatly impacted Moffat.
The town of Moffat dates back more than a century. It was incorporated on April 20, 1911, though it had been well-populated for many years prior.
April 20th is unofficially recognized as a day for celebrating marijuana and some growers in Area 420 today cite the date of incorporation as proof of the town’s destined industry.
Moffat’s proximity to neighboring mining boom towns in Saguache County made it a frequently-traveled transportation port for miners and moving freight.
The busy train station, and its growing stock and agricultural industries, inflated the town’s population to an estimated peak of around 2,500 in the late 1800’s and earned Moffat the nickname “Queen City” of the San Luis Valley.
Moffat was even at one point considered a potential location for Colorado’s state capital, according to some sources.
As trucks began replacing trains and after a devastating fire razed the town at the beginning of the century, Moffat rebuilt itself as the more modest agricultural and cattle ranching community that it remains today.
The town has a population of about 108 according to the 2020 United States Census, including some whose families have lived here for generations.
That’s the story for Ken Skoglund, who, apart from a few years away in Denver, has been in Moffat since the 1960s. He is currently the owner and operator of Skoglund Excavating Inc., a local excavation company; Skoglund is also a member of Moffat’s Board of Trustees.
Through his company, Skoglund literally laid the groundwork for much of Area 420.
“We were the first ones out there doing anything. We cut the fence, built roads, laid the gravel,” he said.
Like many, Skoglund moved to Moffat to escape the crowds of Denver. When Area 420 came to town, he noted that many local “old-timers” were hesitant to ideas of new growth.
“People want to be left alone,” said Skoglund. “It’s really the Wild West.”
But Skoglund recognized that new industry like Area 420 has the potential to “boost the town up.” This could include new industry, new housing, and improved access to utilities such as power, gas, and water.
Saguache County is ranked as one of the poorest in Colorado with 13.5% of families falling below the poverty line and a median household income that’s nearly half of state levels.
Moffat’s vulnerable economy is heightened by limited access to water, an issue that many in the San Luis Valley face. Residents rely on a small number of town wells, some of which Skoglund says have been around since the early 1900s.
However, solving this problem is not as easy as drilling a few more wells. Peter Peterson has been serving as the Saguache County Assessor for about a decade.
“You can’t just go and drill new wells,” said Peterson. “It’s a very complicated process.”
Domestic wells, which service a singular home, can only be purchased for properties with at least 35 acres of land, Peterson said. Even then, the water is limited to in-home use and to watering one-acre of land.
Some larger operations opt for commercial wells, though complicated water laws make them difficult to get approved. Supply for commercial wells are low because they must be purchased from state authorized water sellers.
Area 420 arrived with a solution to the water access problems.
Area 420, which is legally registered under the name Potch LLC, was founded by Whitney Justice, a retired residential builder and developer from Snowmass, Colorado.
Justice had heard about an “explosive growth in the cannabis world” taking place in Moffat. She decided to visit, and while at a friend’s party in town, she was introduced to Mike Biggio.
Biggio was well-experienced in the cannabis industry. At the age of 20, Biggio was convicted of illegally growing and selling cannabis in British Columbia and Colorado. He was released on parole eight years later.
Biggio returned to the industry, finding work in one of Denver’s first legal dispensaries. However, he was let go due to a ban on the employment of ex-felons.
He and Justice began purchasing plots of land — 420 acres to be exact — for their new venture in 2017, and later that year they struck a deal with the town of Moffat to annex Area 420.
Co-founders Biggio and Justice positioned the venture as a means of alleviating some of the town’s utility issues, including water access.
In an annexation deal reached with the town of Moffat in 2018, Area 420 agreed to pay for water, power, and road extensions to their new property, as well as improvements to the town’s municipal well.
While the proposal proved popular with then-mayor Patricia Riegel and the town’s Board of Trustees, some locals expressed their concerns.
An informal collective of residents named the Moffat Group formed to fight Area 420’s annexation.
The group’s legal team argued that neither Justice, Biggio, nor Potch LLC’s director of development, Jason Irwin, had the right to legally operate any type of marijuana operation in the region.
A letter written by the Moffat Group’s legal representation said that the proposal “did not meet statutory and constitutional requirements for annexation.”
However, the town was granted approval to certify the deal, and the town’s board agreed to annex the 420-acre business.
Since then, Area 420 has been selling parcels of land to growers from across the nation interested in staking a claim in the cannabis industry.
That was the case for Stephanie Pedros, who moved to Moffat from Fort Collins last year.
“We heard about Area 420 being a good spot for mom-and-pop farms,” said Pedros. “We are a mom-and-pop farm, and we saw some land and the beautiful scenery, and met some good people here that we connected with… so we wanted to come and live our dream of owning a cannabis farm.”
Pedros is currently cultivating their recently purchased land for farming in the coming year.
Not everyone in Area 420 is a land owner. Lea Hay is an independent contractor who jumps from farm to farm helping with various grows as needed. She has long been interested in the cannabis industry, largely because of the plant’s medicinal potential.
“Cannabis was my medicine. It’s what best helped with my pain and my anxiety,” said Hay. “And moving out here – I wanted to get into that. I wanted to be able to cultivate my medicine.”
Both Pedros and Hay praised Area 420’s welcoming and supportive environment, one which has allowed them to pursue a dream for cannabis farming that is shared among many of the family-owned farms located in Area 420.
Sergio Negrin founded his company, Miracle Farms, based on the dream of his son, Anthony, who he lost to Fanconia Anemia, (FA), a rare genetic disorder that often results in bone marrow failure and a heightened risk of cancer.
Those with FA usually have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, and many don’t make it that long.
Anthony Negrin used cannabis to help alleviate the effects of the disease. His father, Sergio, said that Anthony had dreamed of one day founding a cannabis farm.
Another of Negrin’s sons, Jonathan, also lives with FA. He is 32 today, a feat that Negrin calls “a miracle.”
“It’s Miracle Farms because [Jonathan’s] a miracle, and we’re because of my Anthony who passed away, living his dream,” said Negrin.
The Negrins – including Sergio, his twin sons Jonathan and Jordan, and their cousin Nick – built Miracle Farms by hand. It took nearly 9 months to construct the property, which today includes a 5,300 square foot greenhouse as well as a new extraction lab that produces THC wax.
“Ground up — from the nets to the barbed wire to the mesh. We poured the cement… it’s pretty nuts,” said Jonathan.
Building the farm was only the beginning of what has proved to be a difficult agricultural pursuit.
“If you think growing marijuana or cultivating weed is as simple as putting it in a pot and watering it, you’ve got another thing coming,” said Negrin.
Greenhouses are carefully temperature and humidity-controlled. An enormous humidifier runs around the clock while armies of fans and grow lights ensure that crops are properly cared for year round.
As with any crop, sufficient access to water is essential, something which can prove difficult in water-sparse areas like Moffat. Complex fertilization and cultivation practices must be followed, including frequent testing for potentially harmful microbes and contaminants to ensure the safety of each harvest.
All of this is further complicated by the often extreme climate that comes with living in the San Luis Valley. An unexpected cold-snap last winter wiped out a number of farms’ grows, a blow devastating enough to drive many out of business altogether.
Even after successfully completing and certifying a harvest, the sales process has become increasingly difficult. As laws around cannabis cultivation lighten across the country, more and more farms have emerged, increasing supply and driving down prices in the face of rising costs.
“The price of weed has gone dramatically, dramatically down because of the number of farms out there,” said Negrin. “You see a lot of for sale signs because many can’t endure what we just went through these past two years.”
Despite the difficulties, aspiring cannabis cultivators continue to populate Area 420, which has space to hold more than 50 farms at any given time.
Whether welcomed or not, the influx of new cannabis farmers has led to economic growth in the town of Moffat as a whole.
Some like Skoglund believe that such growth is inevitable, “It’s a trade-off. You can’t stop growth or progress,” said Skoglund.
This leaves Hannis hoping that this growth is the “right growth.”
Hannis was born and raised in and around Moffat. She left for about 25 years to work in other parts of the state, then returned in 2021.
“I will honestly say it was in a completely different place from where I grew up,” said Hannis of her return. “The people are the same, but there’s… more.”
Hannis noted an increased concern for safety. She remembered times of unlocked doors and running free with siblings. Now, Hannis is a bit more cognizant of crime.
“We didn’t even have keys to [our house], so I’m assuming we never locked it. But now, it doesn’t feel as safe,” said Hannis.
Hannis emphasized that she doesn’t think the issue is with Area 420 as a whole. As the assistant manager of Dollar General, the town’s only equivalent to a general goods and grocery store, she has come to know many of the growers in the area.
Instead, Hannis believes that there are a handful of bad actors who are to blame.
Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick said that he has noticed an increase in crime calls to Moffat since Area 420 was founded. He noted that the majority have been to Area 420 specifically.
Monthly crime records support this, showing that between 2022 – 2023, the number of calls to Area 420 outnumbered those to the town of Moffat as a whole.
Sheriff Warwick also underlined that it is frequently the same few individuals being reported.
Beyond crime, Hannis described larger ideological shifts in the town of Moffat, including evolving attitudes towards population growth and the introduction of new businesses and industries into the region.
She noted that outsiders and outside ideas can be unnerving to long-time locals hesitant to change.
Some residents who asked to remain anonymous expressed concerns about the town’s Board of Trustees, a majority of which are or have been in some way affiliated with Area 420. Of the board’s seven members, three own farms on Area 420, including the town’s mayor Jon Lopez.
Mayor Lopez offered to answer emailed questions but did not respond when contacted by Rocky Mountain PBS.
Skoglund said board members remove themselves from any decisions that may prove to be a conflict of interest. Hannis echoed this, noting that she had seen board members, including Skoglund, step away from certain decisions.
Hannis sympathized with some of the “old-timer’s” hesitations, but she emphasized that without the growth and development spurred by Area 420’s arrival, Moffat might cease to exist.
“The old-timers don’t like change,” said Hannis. “They think, ‘We’ve done it for 50 years, so why do we need to change it?’ not realizing that if we don’t change, we’re all going to die out and not have a community here anymore.”
Moffat’s population has decreased significantly since its early mining days. For the past decade, it has hovered around the low 100s, peaking at 127 in 2018. However, the population dropped nearly 15% in one year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hannis noted that any drop in population can be significant in a town as small of Moffat. She said Area 420 has shown her the potential for “positive growth” in the shape of new industry.
Hannis currently works as an Assistant Manager at Dollar General, a store built in 2018 that she credits in part to the growth brought by Area 420.
Before Dollar General, most residents would drive to Salida for groceries, Hannis claimed. However, the store still doesn’t offer the fresh fruit Hannis hopes to one day buy locally.
Because the drive is about 30 to 45 minutes, and because there are few gas stations in the area, many would use the Salida trip to stock up on food for the month.
Now, Dollar General has not only offered a means of buying food locally, but it has emerged as a sort of “third place” for some residents.
“We need somewhere you can go after 5 o’clock,” said Hannis, who added that she, among others, also hoped for a place to buy fresh produce.
“I know [residents] by what beer you drink, and I know what cigarettes you smoke. I joke that [Dollar General] is Cheers without beer,” she said.
Though Hannis said the town has seemed to have lost much of its tight-knit sense of community, she remains hopeful about the future.
In addition to their greenhouse and new extraction lab, Miracle Farms has purchased two of the abandoned train cars that stand at the entrance of Area 420. Negrin is planning on converting one into a dispensary and one into an “event center lounge.”
The latter has already begun serving its purpose. Area 420 families gathered in the retro train car to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Within 420, I feel like I really found my people,” said Pedros.
“Some of us are a little bit of the black sheep of our families,” said Hay, “but we found community here with each other. It’s nice to know that there’s people that are just like me out here.”
While both growers and residents recognize the town as a Moffat divided, they also share a passion for their home, and see opportunities for a unified community. Above all, they dream of a Moffat where the next generation wants to stay, work, and raise their families.
“It’s going to be one giant community when Moffat realizes and Area 420 realizes that we all want the same thing. We want the town to progress,” said Negrin.
“And I think we can do it.”
Copyright 2024 Rocky Mountain PBS.
This story from Rocky Mountain PBS was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico including Aspen Public Radio. It was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico including Aspen Public Radio.