Growth opportunity
Smiths Falls may have lost its chocolate, but its future is green
THE LARGE GREEN mixing vats in the old Hershey’s chocolate factory in Smiths Falls, Ont., used to spin syrup for Jolly Rancher candy. Now they feed nutrientrich water to thousands of marijuana plants in the refurbished facility owned by Tweed Inc., a subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corp., Canada’s largest medical marijuana producer. For decades, the small town of Smiths Falls, located south of Ottawa, was synonymous with Hershey’s. But when the chocolate giant and other manufacturers, initially drawn to the town’s convenient location between Montreal and Toronto, left nearly a decade ago, Smiths Falls lost hundreds of jobs — and its identity. “We were the home of Hershey’s for close to 50 years,” says Shawn Pankow, mayor of Smiths Falls. “I mean, we had the name on our water tower.” Tweed acquired the vacant property at 1 Hershey Drive and began growing and selling cannabis in 2014, shortly after the federal government amended Canada’s medical marijuana legislation to make the substance more accessible to patients and allow Health Canada-regulated commercial growers such as Tweed to cultivate the plant. With the law on its side, the fledgling company transformed the old factory into a gleaming 125-employee facility that’s more state-of-the-art laboratory than traditional grow op. Inside each of its 12 high-security, climate-controlled grow pods, rows of bar-coded marijuana plants soak up golden light meant to resemble the late summer sun — optimal conditions, says Tweed’s communications manager Jordan Sinclair, for the plants to flower. The buds, which contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the primary active ingredients in marijuana, are carefully monitored for consistency and potency. Although the initial response to a cannabis company moving into Smiths Falls was mixed, it seems the detractors have mellowed, recognizing Tweed’s potential to revitalize the town’s economy. In early 2016, the company announced plans to more than double its production capacity, adding another 18 grow rooms and more jobs. With the Canadian government poised to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2017, Tweed is looking into expanding its product line beyond dried marijuana and cannabis oils to potentially include infused food and drinks. As for Tweed helping to forge a new identity for Smiths Falls, it’s certainly a possibility, says Pankow. The community recently embarked on a public consultation process to determine its new, post-chocolate brand. “I don’t think anyone in the community wants to distance themselves from this,” Pankow says. “The question is how we embrace it. The whole world of recreational marijuana use will be far different a year or two down the road.”