Washington's legal cannabis market has been around long enough that some brands have become part of the state's cannabis history.

Two names that came out of that early era are Artizen Cannabis and Narrows Cannabis. Two similar price points but two different stories.

Both companies emerged during the early years of Washington's recreational market & built reputations around locally grown flower. 

Artizen: The Cultivar

Artizen a tier 3 company established itself in Lacey, WA. as a premium indoor producer in Washington's early legal market, building its reputation around carefully selected genetics. 

Top strains include: Dutchberry, Slurricane and Jack Herer. The strain even won a 2016 Dope Cup award and has remained a top brand in Washington for years. Over the next 5 years Artizen would begin heavily investing in expansion of operations 

Company filings describe:

• Lacey: 75,000 sq. ft. facility, with 50,000 sq. ft. devoted to cultivation/processing
• Tacoma: 40,000 sq. ft. cultivation operation
• Tumwater: 25,900 sq. ft. indoor cultivation facility
• Port Townsend: outdoor/light-deprivation greenhouse operation
  

   

   

Over time Artizens success converted the one standalone farm into a broader corporate structure involving Pervasip, (A company that focuses on developing cloud-based applications to monitor and control greenhouse facilities). 

Back in 2015, Pervasip acquired Canalytix, which was developing cloud-based technology for monitoring and controlling greenhouse facilities—including energy consumption, HVAC, lighting and costs. 

In 2021 the company moved much deeper into cannabis. Pervasip had acquired Artizen Corporation and Zen Asset Management.

Narrows: The Cultivar 

According to uncle Willies cannabis (located in Kelso, Wa.) 

Narrows is a small family run company with 12 employees, including the owners! Like Artizen Narrows produces high-quality cannabis at a customer friendly price.

Narrows Cannabis takes small batch to the next level with flower rooms only 1,000 square feet, however they're able to double their canopy size by utilizing a vertical grow set up! 

Where Artizen developed into a large-scale, highly recognizable Washington cannabis brand, Narrows has maintained a much more independent, Local identity.

The company began operating during the same early era of Washington's recreational market, with its first harvest coming in 2016.

Rather than building the same highly publicized premium-brand identity as Artizen, Narrows has largely operated as a working cannabis producer whose products have continued to circulate through Washington retailers on a smaller scale.

What makes Narrows interesting is that it's less of a story about a cannabis company becoming a recognizable consumer brand and more of a story about a local producer surviving the evolution of Washington's cannabis market many can relate to.

Artizen - Blue Raspberry Gelato VS. 
Narrows - Double Kush Cake

Blue Raspberry Gelato

Rich notes of sweet berry with a Gelato funk to it. This strain looked amazing broke down amazing and was a solid smoking experience. Beautiful white trichomes all over the bud layered with tiny orange hairs. However, I did notice the stem was a bit browner and not as bright of a green as its counterpart. Overall, this was a very solid product for the price and i would give it 3/5 Stars.

Double Kush Cake

Beautiful bright green bud broke down leaving Resin all over our fingers. A super sweet OG Kush smell, we were very impressed with the quality of the bud and wouldn't be surprised if the company felt the need to charge more eventually, it's well deserved especially on such a small scale of production. We'd give this a 3.9/5 Stars.

 

Artizen vs. Narrows: The Real Difference

The most interesting part of comparing these two companies isn't necessarily which one has "better weed."

It's what each company represents.

Artizen represents the evolution of Washington cannabis from early legal-market flower into a recognizable consumer brand. Its strongest products became products people could identify by name. Dutchberry is the obvious example. The strain has remained a top-selling Washington flower for years, demonstrating how much staying power recognition can have.

Narrows represents the independent Washington producer that has continued to operate while the market around it changed. Focusing on providing great cannabis at an affordable price and not needing to commercialize it's craft.


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