Pubdate: Thu, 08 Nov 2012
Source: Napanee Guide (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 OSPREY Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.napaneeguide.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3980
Author: Meghan Balogh

MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAY BE GROWN LOCALLY

Stone Mills Township could soon be the home of a groundbreaking 
facility that will produce medicinal cannabis (marijuana), for 
consumption by approved patients in Canada.

ABcann Medicinals, the company behind the project, anticipates that a 
large-scale medical marijuana production facility will be a big step 
toward better meeting the needs of an estimated 2.1 million approved 
users across the country.

ABcann chief executive officer Ken Clement says that the company is 
proceeding with plans for a Stone Mills facility, pending a permit to 
operate from Health Canada.

The company is also pursuing the establishment of another facility in 
the municipality of Big Quill, Sask.

"I would say that unless someone else comes along, Stone Mills will 
be the first in Canada," said Clement in a phone interview Monday, 
stating a facility in the municipality is currently in the preliminary stages.

"We're working with Hydro One and have a couple pieces of property in 
mind in the Stone Mills area. We have to determine what site is going 
to give us enough access to power for the long-term."

He says that solar energy in the region was one deciding factor in 
the selection of the Tamworth area as a site.

He also says that the provincial government has been very receptive 
to the company's proposal. "We were going to build in British 
Columbia first, because (our doctor), Dr. Iain Cleator, is based 
here. But the way the Ontario levels of government have accepted us, 
and just because of the job creation around what we are doing, 
they're being very helpful."

The planned facility will be a source of local employment, and create 
full- and part-time positions in the areas of administration, 
nursing, compliance, security, growing, processing and shipping, with 
an estimated payroll near $1.9 million per year, according to a press 
release from the company. There will also be employment opportunities 
as construction for the facility gets underway.

"We're anticipating close to 100 jobs created between construction 
and also a call centre," said Clement.

ABcann is working under guidelines set by Health Canada.

"We have been told by Health Canada that by December there will be a 
next round of documents that guide us, in terms of the overall 
designs of the facility."

With proposed changes to Health Canada's medical marijuana program, 
Clement says the facility in Stone Mills will fit well with the 
government's mandate to provide medical cannabis, through physicians, 
to increasing numbers of approved patients in the country.

"I think more and more Canadians are looking at alternative medicine. 
I think cannabis has been used for thousands of years in medicine, 
and is something more natural.

"The current Minister of Health (Leona Aglukkaq) has stated that the 
current system is coming to an end. We're trying to take it to a 
different level with quality control, product testing, all the 
factors that are not there in the existing program."

According to the company's press release, the company "is committed 
to being a long-term market player, which will result in requiring a 
high technical skill level within the employee base."

Clement says ABcann is aiming for a spring 2013 groundbreaking, and 
is hoping that the facility will be built and operating by later on 
that year or early 2014.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom