Prepared By: Proven Media
This month, one of the first edibles-focused dispensaries in the state celebrated its 5th anniversary with a renewed commitment to the future, a new product line, and a brand-new name. That’s right, Payson’s famous Uncle Herbs is now: Untamed Herbs. Unlike dozens of rural dispensaries that moved to the big city as soon as possible, Uncle Herb’s has stayed true to its mountain community home. Owner Andrew Provencio, a one-time professional L.A. musician who retired as an Alaskan senior captain firefighter returned to the land of his childhood and captured one of the original licenses in 2012.
Since then, their chief chef, Francis Baczek, has developed a product line that includes more than 60 edibles products from “on-fused” rainbow belts to “Big Foot” chocolate bars to gel-cap “chill pills” with THC, CBD, or 1 to 1, in both original and vegan. Their brand-new gel-cap maker can produce as many as 30,000 caps per hour. They use a wide variety of extraction methods to carefully formulate the best whole plant cannabinoid combinations for each different product. The company also produces a line of “naked vape” cartridges w zero additives and lists the major cannabinoids in each strain.
This approach requires rigorous testing. Provenicio believes that his team tests their products more than any other operation in the state. Last year, Provencio put his money where his mouth was when it came to testing and co-chaired the stakeholders’ panel at the state capitol to begin the process of drafting state testing standards. He imagines his dedication to patient safety and healthiness comes from his years as a first responder.
Oh yeah, about that name change? The original name was a legacy from a former business partner. And no, though Provencio is from Alaska, there is no connection between Payson’s Uncle Herbs and the dispensary of the same name in Homer, Alaska. “It’s a way to express our guiding ideology,” Provencio explains. “The new name really does a better job of describing who we are. Untamed.” But fear not, if you can’t make the trek up the mountain to visit their Payson location, Untamed Herbs’ “Uncle Herb’s” brand product lines will still be available in dispensaries around the state.