Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jan 2017
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2017 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Lorraine Mirabella

ENTREPRENEURS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO APPLY TO OPEN A MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWING
FACILITY IN BALTIMORE

[photo]
SAFED, ISRAEL -- A worker at a cannabis greenhouse at the growing facility
of the Tikun Olam company near the northern city of Safed, Israel. (Uriel
Sinai / Baltimore Sun)

Two Silver Spring-based entrepreneurs said Monday they hope to open a
medical marijuana growing and processing plant in Baltimore.

Healthy Choice Alternative LLC is in the process of applying for one of up
to 15 cultivation licenses as well as a processors license from the state
under Maryland's medical marijuana program, an attorney for the company
said.

Plans call for renovating a vacant 118,000-square-foot building into a
growing operation, starting in about 30,000 square feet and expanding to
about 100,000 square feet, said attorney Eddie Pounds. He said the company
is not disclosing the specific site, which would be in an area zoned for
industrial or manufacturing use within the 11th councilmanic district,
which runs from Federal Hill through downtown and Mount Vernon north to
Reservoir Hill and west to Harlem Park.

"The idea is to combine the growing and processing operations at the same
site," Pounds said.

The company said it has been meeting with city officials about the
proposal. The operation would bring in at least 100 jobs over three years,
starting with about 20, including growers, trimmers, packagers, security
guards, human resources managers and accountants, the company said.

The Baltimore County Council has set the zoning rules that will govern
where medical marijuana businesses can open in the county.

The unanimous passage of Councilwoman Vicki Almond's bill makes Baltimore
County the first jurisdiction to tackle zoning issues surrounding medical
marijuana, in advance...

The Baltimore County Council has set the zoning rules that will govern
where medical marijuana businesses can open in the county.

The unanimous passage of Councilwoman Vicki Almond's bill makes Baltimore
County the first jurisdiction to tackle zoning issues surrounding medical
marijuana, in advance... (Pamela Wood)

Applications for licenses to grow, process and dispense marijuana are due
Nov. 6 to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which oversees
licensing, registration, inspection and testing or the medical marijuana
program. Pounds said he believes licensees would have a year to address
zoning issues and open their doors.

Healthy Choice was started by Ali Askari, a pharmacist, and John Phillips,
a patient advocate and cancer survivor, Pounds said. The state has
estimated there are 60,000 patients in Maryland who could use the
treatment.

The company expects its growing operation would produce between 200 pounds
to 300 pounds of marijuana per month in the first year and 600 to 700
pounds per month in the second year.

With the state publishing draft regulations for medical marijuana and an
infrastructure for growing and distributing it coming into view,
Marylanders who suffer from chronic pain or debilitating disease could
gain access to the drug by the middle of next year.

The rules developed by the Maryland...

With the state publishing draft regulations for medical marijuana and an
infrastructure for growing and distributing it coming into view,
Marylanders who suffer from chronic pain or debilitating disease could
gain access to the drug by the middle of next year.

The rules developed by the Maryland... (Meredith Cohn)

Pounds, the former general counsel for the Prince George's County Economic
Development Corp., called his client's plans a "promising opportunity to
bring high paying jobs and a renewed spirit to an important part of the
region that has been through so much."

Susan Yum, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Development Corp., said
inquiries have been coming in from people interested in growing,
processing or dispensing medical marijuana in the city. She did not have
information about specific meetings with Healthy Choice.

"There are more actions that need to happen at the state level before
local-level agencies can figure out how to deal with requests like this,"
she said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: