B.C. medical cannabis cultivation facility underway

Calgary-based eco-agriculture company, Maple Leaf Green World, announced that field clearing is underway for its proposed medical cannabis cultivation facility.

The 80,000-sq.-ft. facility will be located on 30 acres of land in Telkwa, B.C.

Foundation construction is expected to be complete in January 2018, with construction of the building expected to take place shortly thereafter.

MMP Structural Engineering, also based in Calgary, will act as the facility’s project manager. Woodmere Nursery, based in Telkwa, B.C., leases the land.

Maple Leaf operates two cannabis projects in the U.S. – California and Nevada – and one in B.C. The company’s long-term objective is to produce and export cannabis products to approved countries.

The company aims to apply greenhouse management, eco-agriculture and cultivation technology to produce contaminant-free, organic cannabis products.

The original estimated completion date for the project was December 2017.

In June 2017, Maple Leaf announced its partnership with Paramount Structures, based in Bolton, Ont., to commence construction of the facility. The company submitted a building permit to the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, B.C., in October 2017.

A Foundational Building Permit was granted to Woodmere Nursery in November 2017. However, the permit was not issued for the development of a medical cannabis production facility until adequately authorized under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) and applicable zoning by-laws.

The lands, buildings and structures at the facility are permitted for horticulture, nursery, greenhouse and intensive agriculture use.

Health Canada has introduced several improvements that aim to streamline the licensing of medical cannabis producers, which includes prioritizing those applicants with built out schedule and issuing license without prior inspection upon proof of completion of built out.

SOURCE: MAPLE LEAF GREEN WORLD