Dave Valese, Chief Visionary Officer of HoneyProjects – Interview Series

While many cannabis connoisseurs assume most long-standing cannabis operators and professionals are concentrated in California and other West Coast states, the East Coast is actually home to a large number of pioneers who were active long before cannabis became a multi-billion-dollar industry.

One such respected figure in New Jersey’s cannabis sector is Dave Valese, Chief Visionary Officer of HoneyProjects, who transformed a deeply personal experience into a series of award-winning dispensaries and cannabis product lines.

What were your first experiences with cannabis like, and how did you first witness its medical potential for some people?

My first experiences were purely recreational—I was young, enjoying the culture, the music, the energy. It felt good, and I realized early on that a lot of what I’d been told about the plant just wasn’t true. But everything shifted in 2003 when my cousin was battling cancer. Seeing him so heavily medicated on opiates that he didn’t even recognize me was a wake-up call. When I saw cannabis ease his suffering and restore his dignity, it stopped being recreational. It ignited a passion for the plant’s potential to heal.

I knew I needed to truly understand the plant, so I started going to concerts praying I’d meet someone who could teach me. At a jam band festival in Buffalo, I met a taper from upstate New York who had been cultivating for 30 years. I spent three years apprenticing under him, learning the soul of cultivation and genetics. During that time, I crossed Cinderella 99 with Super Silver Haze to create Silverella—a strain that’s still around today. And by 2005, we won the Harvest Cup with Cinderella 99 in both the flower and bubble hash categories.

That journey—from my cousin’s struggle to that apprenticeship—deepened my purpose: to honor the plant through every step of the process and to build something authentic that truly helps people.

Even though it was the underground market, what did operating in that space teach you about both proper cannabis cultivation and business, too?

It taught me that trust is everything, and I mean everything. When I was operating in the legacy market, I was risking my life and my wellbeing every single day. There was no safety net. If someone robbed you, you couldn’t call the cops and say, “Hey, somebody took my weed.” So the people you surrounded yourself with had to be solid. I still carry that with me today. If I don’t trust someone, I don’t work with them. Period.

With that much money on the line, and your life on the line right alongside it, you learn fast what matters. For me, quality was always the most important thing. I’m not just starting this “better weed” thing now that it’s legal, I’ve cared about having the best quality medicine for the people who wanted and needed it throughout my entire career.

Cultivation practices are everything, because at the end of the day, this is medicine. Are there pesticides? Is it organic? How is it being grown? If people are going to be ingesting something, I’m going to make sure it’s the best product possible. And the team matters just as much — who you deal with, who you let into your circle. We keep it tight. We work with people we’d want to invite to dinner. That way, if there’s ever an issue, it’s easy to deal with. Less people, more trust, higher standards.

Long before legalization in the 1990s, what was the Northeast states’ stance and penalties on cannabis? Were some states and municipalities more strict about possession of the plant than others?

Oh my God, yes. The differences were night and day. For instance, I wouldn’t drive in New Jersey with cannabis for almost 20 years. I lived in New York because NJ was such a police state. Because I have dreadlocks, I’d get profiled every single time I was driving in the state. I used to pay people to drive my product around just to avoid that.

I eventually moved to Maine because 99 plants was a misdemeanor up there. It was a completely different world. I became a caregiver in Maine for 14 years. Maine was medically legal from 1998 and went recreational in 2017, which I was a part of helping make happen. Meanwhile, the rest of the East Coast wasn’t anywhere near that. You can still do years in jail for cannabis in New Jersey to this day — someone just recently got six years for cannabis in NJ. That’s the reality people don’t always see when they look at this shiny new legal market.

It’s worth noting that HoneyGrove and HoneyStash are in strong support of the right to grow at home. We’ve even met fellow activists at homegrow rallies who are now members of the HoneyProjects team. We believe in the plant and the people’s right to it, period.

How did your cousin’s battle with cancer cause you to become fully invested in your cannabis cultivation skills and growing strains that have more potential medical value than others?

That was the turning point where I realized this plant isn’t just recreational — it’s so much deeper than that. With more research, I came to understand that certain people need certain genetics, and that’s still something that requires much more study, which is why this market is so underdeveloped in a lot of ways. Most people in this industry are still growing for greed, not for the patient.

The strains being grown in New Jersey aren’t necessarily the best medical strains, which is exactly why we work with small-batch growers who use better practices and are mindful about strain selection. Sometimes it’s about mixing strains, creating RSO oil, getting that full-spectrum experience — because that’s what truly helps cancer patients and people dealing with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and other serious conditions.

Back then, you really had to search for this knowledge. The internet was just coming online, there was High Times magazine, but not many people were pushing for real research into the medicinal side. We’re just getting there now. Rescheduling really opens up the doors for this type of research, and I genuinely believe it’s going to change the world.

From your cultivation experience, what cannabis genetics and terpene profiles have been most popular for medical cannabis patients, and why those genetics in particular?

High CBD flower has been an incredible development, and it has changed lives — like Charlotte’s Web (CWEB.TO ), named after Charlotte Figi. That strain helped her with seizures, and those stories opened a lot of hearts and minds among people who were previously against cannabis. That was a huge step in the evolution of this plant. My own father was against cannabis until I shared that story about how the plant gave that little girl a life where she could potentially thrive.

I have a friend who has serious brain issues and frequent seizures, and she needs one very specific strain — it’s the only one that helps her not have seizures. But it doesn’t get grown in New Jersey. It’s not available in the legal market. Stories like that show you how far we still have to go.

It’s deeply personal. Everyone’s endocannabinoid system is different, and with thousands of different strains out there, a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t work. It’s hard to dial it in for each individual. That said, full-spectrum RSO has been a super successful strategy for patients. Rick Simpson really paved the way for that knowledge, and we owe a lot to his work.

What caught your attention about the role of Chief Visionary Officer with HoneyProjects? With all your experience with cannabis cultivation, why did you want to work in the New Jersey cannabis industry?

First of all, I’m from here. I never in a million years thought I’d be able to work in New Jersey legally, much less partner with people I grew up with and make my dreams a reality in my home state. So to be home, close to family, and be a part of building something meaningful here? That’s a blessing I don’t take for granted.

I wanted to be here to help shape the industry because when I looked around, there wasn’t a lot of small-batch quality and the standards weren’t high enough. We’ve been a major part of shifting that — building stores full of products we stand behind, assembling a whole company of amazing people, and creating real community through our events and culture. The group of people we’ve put together at HoneyProjects is the best thing I’ve been a part of in my whole life. Shifting cannabis to be centered on culture and community — that’s our legacy.

What are your regular duties as Chief Visionary Officer, and how does that role strengthen all the operations of HoneyProjects? How much of that job involves partnering up/working with the community and non-profit organizations?

My role touches every part of what makes HoneyProjects what it is. I curate the menu, handle all of the purchasing, and manage the partnerships with every brand we work with. I take it very seriously who we let on our shelves — that’s non-negotiable. I also play a big role in building the brand, the marketing, creating our events, and developing our private label products. We haven’t talked much about those yet, but they’re doing incredibly well and the community is really excited about our offerings.

And our events have become something really special. In just two years, HoneyGrove in Clementon has become a regional cultural anchor — drawing crowds from South Jersey to Philadelphia — by fusing cannabis, music, and community. We hosted Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Sen Dog for 4/20, paired with a packed car show and live performances. Our second anniversary brought legendary DJ Rich Medina alongside SiriusXM’s DJ Ceasar, local bands, and another car showcase. 

Over the holidays, we collected new, unwrapped toys for donation to children in need as part of a Toys for Tots initiative at our events. That’s what it’s all about — uplifting artists, supporting small craft brands, and bringing people together in a way that’s authentic and community-driven.

What strengths do you think the New Jersey cannabis industry has over the New York industry? Do the extra years of experience provide a benefit to the Garden State’s industry?

They really coincide with one another — they always have when it comes to culture. People have always grown cannabis in upstate New York and brought it to New Jersey, shipped it to NJ from the west coast and brought it back to NY. The history and the ties between the two states have been close in the legacy market for decades.

Now, New Jersey started out as more of a monopoly when the legal industry got going, so it developed much differently than New York, which was more mindful from the jump about creating a diverse industry. They took a different approach.

I have a lot of faith that New York will catch up and get stronger — because it’s New York, right? There will always be a bigger legacy market there as well. I think both states have a lot to offer, and as they continue to evolve, the culture and the commerce between them will only get tighter.

What have been some of the most noteworthy recognitions and awards that HoneyProjects and its stores have received while you’ve been with the company?

We’ve been incredibly blessed with the recognition we’ve received. HoneyGrove was named 2024 Dispensary of the Year by Cannademix, which was a huge honor and a real validation of the work our entire team puts in every single day. And our newest location, HoneyStash, was recognized in the 2025 GreenState Consumers’ Choice Awards for Best Dispensary in the Northeast. 

Beyond the awards, we’re also deeply involved in elevating the culture at the highest level. HoneyProjects is actually the presenting sponsor of the New Jersey High Times Cannabis Cup Awards in Atlantic City on May 1st. For someone like me who grew up with the plant, being the lead sponsor for a legendary name like High Times in my home state is a full-circle moment. These milestones mean the world to us because they come from the community and the consumers who experience what we’re building firsthand. It’s proof that when you lead with quality, culture, and genuine care for people, it makes a difference.

How do you envision both HoneyProjects and the greater New Jersey cannabis industry changing as a result of the eventual federal rescheduling of cannabis?

Honestly, I don’t see it changing the day-to-day all that much on the ground level. It’s hard to say exactly how it’s going to play out — there’s a chance they may require us to have a pharmacist on-site, which would be a shift. But the biggest impact? The taxes. No more 280E is going to be amazing for operators. That alone changes the financial landscape for every cannabis business in a major way.

Beyond that, what really excites me is what rescheduling opens up for research. We were just talking about how certain patients need very specific genetics and strains that aren’t even available in the legal market right now. Rescheduling opens the doors for the kind of deep research that’s going to help us understand this plant on a whole new level, and that’s going to change the world.

Thank you for joining us, Dave! For more information on HoneyProjects, please visit its website.