Cannabis shop in Albion celebrating grand opening

CannaWave sells legal products grown locally in Waterport

Photos by Tom Rivers: Rick Stacey (third from left) is the owner of CannaWave at 162 South Main St. He is pictured with employees, from left: bud tender Brian Cunningham, co-manager Alyssa Winder and co-manager Jacob Shaw.

ALBION – A legal cannabis shop will be having its grand opening celebration in Albion today and on Saturday.

CannaWave opened in July at 162 South Main St. The business sells products grown locally in Waterport at Hydro-Grow NY. It also carries products from other legal producers.

CannaWave is Orleans County’s only licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary. It sells lab-tested flower, edibles, vape carts and beverages to local adult consumers.

Rick Stacey of Albion owns the business. A process engineer, he also owns RS Automation on Route 98 in Albion, and he owns a greenhouse in Waterport where the plants are grown for many of the products at CannaWave.

Rick Stacey, owner of CannaWave, is on the ground floor of the state’s emerging legal cannabis market. The name of the business ties into its close proximity to the waves of Lake Ontario.

Stacey said he was drawn to the cannabis business seeing it as a way to offer safe products to consumers. The products are all heavily tested and regulated. He has videos inside the store showing the cannabis plants being grown and harvested at his greenhouse, Hydro-Grow NY Inc.

He is happy to share the test results of all the products. An independent lab takes samples and the cannabis products need to pass state standards for residual solvents, microbials, heavy metals, mycotoxins and pesticides. CannaWave grows its plants in an enclosed greenhouse in Waterport that is conducive to the safety standards, Stacey said.

“As a local, family-run business, we care deeply about our neighbors and the community we live in,” he said. “CannaWave is built on providing a safe, professional and transparent environment where the customers can feel confident about where their products come from and how they are grown.”

Provided photo: The cannabis plants are grown at a greenhouse in Waterport, making the operation a seed-to-sale vertically integrated business.

Stacey also owns Hydro-Grow at 4015 Oak Orchard Rd. He initially was focused on cannabinoid hemp at Hydro-Grow, which started in 2019.

The state legalized adult-use cannabis for people 21 and older in 2021, and the first adult-use dispensary opened in December 2022. There are now 1,039 licensed adult-use retailers statewide.

Stacey has a license to grow cannabis plants at the 20,000-square-foot greenhouse. He uses his expertise in advanced industrial engineering in growing the cannabis plants.

Hydro-Grow features proprietary automated environmental controls, custom software integration, specialized fertigation systems and prevision HVAC chiller.

Hydro-Grow can fine-tune lighting, humidity, airflow and plant nutrients around the clock, producing clean, contaminant-free flower without heavy chemical inputs. The flower, sold in bags by an eighth of an ounce, is the top sellers so far at CannaWave.

At Hydro-Grow, Stacey said the operation merges industrial process engineering with sustainable horticultural science.

“By controlling every parameter of the cultivation environment right here in Albion, we ensure consistent product quality, strict safety testing, and sustainable energy efficiency,” he said.

These products are packaged for sale at CannaWave and include bags of fresh flower at an eighth of an ounce which are $30 each. That includes a 13 percent tax. The state gets a 9 percent tax, with the county 1 percent and the village 3 percent.

The dispensary features CannaWave-cultivated strains alongside curated selections of state-licensed edibles, beverages, tinctures and topicals.

‘There has been a lot of positive feedback,” Stacey said about CannaWave. “People don’t have to drive to the reservation, and they feel it’s safer.”

There are six employees at CannaWave, and the staff works to educate customers. Some customers use the products for anxiety and pain relief, and others are recreational users.

Stacey said the safe, transparent and approachable atmosphere helps to destigmatize cannabis products. He said the adult customers include curious first-timers to experienced patients and those seeking wellness alternatives.

CannaWave is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. For additional information, including product menus, check cannawaveny.com or the verified listings on Weedmaps.