HIGH TIMES IN ASTON
They’re the force behind medical marijuana facility
SPRINGFIELD >> The green light from Aston Township means a medical marijuana growing and processing facility is one step closer to setting up shop in Delaware County.
Senior members of the McKee Group, a familyowned real estate corporation in Springfield, has spun off MedGarden LLC, which they claim will be among the premier cannabis growers in the state.
The permitting process in Pennsylvania is still under way, and will continue into the third week of March, but if MedGarden wins the permit it will be among just 12 such operations in the state — and one of two in the region.
For the McKees, the desire to be “responsible shepherds” of the medical marijuana industry has come in response to being personally affected by illnesses and conditions that medical marijuana intends to remedy.
“I, like many families, have been personally touched by cancer, childhood disease and by veterans who have been injured,” said Jennifer McKee, 40, vice president of the McKee group, who will act as CEO of MedGarden. “Before the (medical marijuana) act was passed, we were doing research, just because we were hopeful.”
Jennifer said she and her father, Frank McKee, the patriarch and managing director of the McKee Group, traveled to conferences around the country and learned the personal stories of people who have successfully used cannabis treatments for a variety of ailments.
Frank McKee, 66, is in remission from prostate cancer, and said while seeking treatment at Roberts Proton Therapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital he would see children coming into the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia dealing with cancer.
“It had an impact on me, seeing the suffering that folks were going through it. It was one of the biggest reasons why this made a lot of sense,” Frank McKee said.
Speaking about the practice of doctors prescribing opioids to patients, he said, “It’s unfortunate, but it’s the only option available.”
“The more research we did, the more passionate we became that cannabisbased medicines have the potential for really significant and positive clinical outcomes,” Jennifer McKee said.
Delaware County is among the most prized locations for permit-seekers to establish cannabis businesses in the Philadelphia region, with the Aston grower-processor having the potential to serve 30 dispensaries in the southeast
“I, like many families, have been personally touched by cancer, childhood disease and by veterans who have been injured.” — Jennifer McKee, 40, vice president of the McKee group, who will act as CEO of MedGarden
region that will impact 30,000 families each month.
Applications for the grower-processor and dispensary permits are currently being submitted statewide to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. That agency will soon make the call on the first business operations of the growing, processing and distribution of medical marijuana treatment to patients becoming a reality.
The first step was for Aston Township to approve MedGarden LLC for the conditional-use ordinance that would enable the property owned by the McKee group at 414 Knowlton Road to house the indoor medical marijuana
growhouse.
The McKee Group was among the ownership of Beaver Valley, a tract of land in Concord Township that had received board approval for a 160-home development to be known as Vineyard Commons. However, the county and other groups stepped in to purchase the land as protected open space.
Additionally, the McKee Group are among the owners of the former Franklin Mint tract, which has received a zoning ordinance to develop the 173-acre property with 302 residential units along Baltimore Pike in Middletown.
For MedGarden, upon the granting of the license by the state, the facility will feature up to 9,000 square foot of space for the growing and harvesting of cannabis plants, enough to serve 30,000 patients a month, the McKee Group said.
Jennifer McKee will serve as CEO. Sister Kathryn McKee Black, 38, is the chief compliance officer and general counsel, and mother Karen McKee will serve as the chairman of MedGarden with father Frank McKee being a chief investor.
“At the end of the day the McKee name is really going to be associated with MedGarden,” Frank McKee said. “You want to make sure you’re dealing with the right people who are in it for the right reasons.”
Currently, the building is under rehabilitation by McKee, so that upon the granting of the permit they can begin work right away converting it to a growing facility.
“We have a strong real estate background, and that has served us very well (in preparation for the growing and processing facility),” Jennifer McKee said. “We thought we’d take the risk,” Frank McKee said about buying the building long before the permit process had begun. “The way the law is written, you have a certain period of time where you need to be up and running.
“So, if you don’t get yourself ready and prepared, and own the property, and get everything lined up, how are you going to produce product in the timeframe the state has set?” Frank McKee asked.
In addition to the top security officials from Integrated Security Systems, who will provide physical security, as well as oversight from the National Cannabis Security Association, the facility will be monitored 24/7. The McKees have sought the guidance from MJardin, a Colorado-based cannabis consulting and marijuana management company, which helps businesses navigate the cannabis laws that vary from state to state.
Pennsylvania medical marijuana laws do not allow for the sale of combustible forms of the plants — i.e. no “whole plant” cannabis — but rather enables for treatments with pills, oils, creams and a nebulizer to provide relief for individuals with a variety of qualifying conditions from cancer to post-traumatic stress disorder.
The MedGarden facility will grow the plants, produce the extracts, and then sell to the distributors who will deal directly with the patients.
With two permits available in the southeast region, the other big name to enter the fray recently is the family of Ed Snider, who recently said that the dying Flyers owner had used medical marijuana to ease his suffering from metastatic bladder cancer in the last days of his life.
There are estimated to be over 800 applicants.
The applications process will be closed on March 20, with dispensaries and growerprocessors expected to be up and running by 2018.