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Interest in the corporate pot market is growing in the province with a state-of-the-art medical marijuana production facility set to open in the Regina area by the summer.
On Tuesday, One Leaf Cannabis Corp. announced plans to start construction on a multi-million dollar 44,000 square foot facility to be located in the R.M. of Sherwood just outside Regina.
In an interview with 980 CJME, Mike Templeton, chief operating officer for One Leaf, explained the initial focus of the facility will be on medical marijuana, with the capacity to expand into the recreational pot market in the future.
“We’ve applied to be a medical producer at this point, you know with the expectation that as the recreational market emerges that we will take part in that as well,” Templeton said.
He said the company felt comfortable moving forward to meet guidelines for the medical marijuana market. The license is still pending final approval by Health Canada.
The announcement comes ahead of the provincial government’s full plan for recreational marijuana sales and production.
“As the guidelines and the structure falls into place here in the province, then we’ll be able to have a better understanding of our future direction there on the (recreational) side,” Templeton commented.
The company has a conditional development permit from the R.M. to begin construction.
The first phase of the operation is expected to be ready to start production in the summer of 2018. When it is up and running, the single facility will produce approximately 4,100 kilograms of cannabis per year, with plans for additional facilities to produce up to 16,00 kilograms in total per year.
Eventually, the company said the facility will create 100 jobs in the Regina area, ranging from labour to high-tech fields. One Leaf is also employing local design and construction firms for the facility.
The Regina-based company also has big plans for developing what it describes as a “vibrant new industry” in the province.
While the initial plan is to sell to regional and domestic markets, One Leaf said the facility will also be designed to meet standards for cannabis set out by the European Union in order to eventually pursue export markets.
-with files from 980 CJME’s Kevin Martel