MARIJUANA PLANT COMING TO OLDCASTLE?
Company looks to supply licensed users
ECGreen is planning to open up a marijuana production facility in Oldcastle to grow cannabis for licensed medical users.
ECGreen is one of at least two Essex County businesses exploring the possibility of growing marijuana for medicinal users now that the federal government is getting out of the business.
According to the OPP, a greenhouse operator in Leamington is also investigating getting a production licence from Health Canada.
Nationally, Health Canada has received 248 applications from companies that want to set up marijuana production facilities, according to Sara Lauer, media relations officer. A regional breakdown was unavailable Friday.
There were no up-to-date statistics on medicinal marijuana users past December 2012. At the end of last year there were 28,115 people licensed to possess marijuana nationally, more than double the number of people licensed in January 2012.
Locally, 154 people in Windsor are authorized to have marijuana.
People authorized to possess marijuana for medical use will no longer be able to grow their own pot as of March 31. The federal government will cease producing marijuana as of April 1.
Instead the government is licensing production facilities to grow marijuana in large quantities and ship product to authorized patients.
The federal government has changed the rules around growing medicinal marijuana in part because there were no rules regulating the quality of the pot being grown, pesticide use and selling excess marijuana to non- medicinal users, said Normand Marcoux, one of several investors in ECGreen.
“IT’S EASIER TO GROW A PLANT THAN GET INTO ONE OF THESE FACILITIES.”
OPP SGT. RIC TONIAL
ECGreen is seeking a zoning change from industrial zone to a “site specific” industrial zone to include a medical marijuana facility as a permitted use in an Oldcastle industrial building the company will buy if the zoning is approved. Tecumseh council will discuss the issue Tuesday and the public rezoning hearing is set for Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
If ECGreen gets its growers licence from Health Canada, it plans to hire up to 20 people over the next couple of years to cultivate, harvest, package and take orders.
The marijuana growing industry is highly regulated, with rules regarding RCMP background checks for employees, keeping records of transactions and top-notch security requiring fencing, cameras, vaults and people on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Marcoux said.
“I don’t use marijuana, but I believe in the business opportunity and I believe it helps people,” he said.
Instead of cannabis being grown in people’s homes with the possibility of mould infestation and high electricity bills, marijuana will be sold like it’s in a pharmacy, he said.
Marcoux had tried to get a factory in Windsor earlier this year but said the city administration showed little interest in his plan so he turned to Tecumseh and Lakeshore. Oldcastle was deemed perfect because of its affordable real estate.
According to Tecumseh planning documents, town administration said the proposal “warrants further consideration.” The fire and police departments had no concerns about the proposed use of the facility.
OPP Sgt. Ric Tonial said that as long as the company follows the federal rules, especially regarding security measures, he’s “OK with it.”
He doesn’t see it attracting a criminal element or being a magnet for break-and-enter specialists.
“Marijuana is a naturally grown product,” he said. “It’s easier to grow a plant than get into one of these facilities. The security is a deterrent.”
Breaking into one of these growing operations would be like breaking into Fort Knox, Tonial said, referring to the U.S. treasury site where gold is stored and money is printed.
Bob Hamilton, Tecumseh’s chief fire prevention officer, said the marijuana growing facility won’t have any obvious hazards.
“I would like to see how it actually works because I’ve never seen one,” he said.
ECGreen will have to file for building permits as it prepares to renovate the factory space it is buying and the fire department might have to inspect the facility before it opens.