Canada’s new medical marijuana regulations could usher in an age of massive cultivation operations with tens of thousands of plants.
One operation – Green Leaf Technologies – in British Columbia said it could boost its growing capacity by a factor of nearly 10. The company’s owner said he could eventually have a 150,000-square-foot facility (about the size of three supermarkets) vs. the current 16,000-square-foot building Green Leaf currently uses, according to the news website Castanet.net.
The report called Green Leaf’s grow operation one of the “most efficient, sterile and up-to-date cultivation facilities in the province.” The company is located in the town of Kelowna, about 60 miles north of the US border.
Green Leaf Technologies is one of 250 businesses applying for a license with the Canadian health department to grow and distribute marijuana.
The country recently started moving away from a government-run MMJ program to a free market, allowing registered businesses to cultivate an unlimited amount of cannabis and provide it to patients via a secure courier service.
The owner Green Leaf, who identified himself only as “Bob K,” said he expects the price of marijuana to drop substantially in Canada after April 1. While that could erode profits, larger cultivation operations will benefit from economies of scale, minimizing the damage to the bottom line.
“In a controlled commercial market I personally see the price dropping. I know that is something that scares a lot of people,” Bob K said. ” I think we may see that happen and then it will level out and maybe it will gain some increase.”
