Cannabis not on local greenhouse radar yet

By Gillian Slade on February 17, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

Greenhouses may seem to be the ideal growing environment for cannabis but so far local operators are shying away.

“Right now there is nobody that I know of that is looking into this in Medicine Hat,” said Alberta Cramer, owner Rollin Acres greenhouses, located off South Boundary Road. “Will somebody do it in the future? I don’t know, maybe.”

At the moment there is still some stigma associated with cannabis, said Cramer. There are still questions about how appropriate it would be to be growing something like cannabis for society.

Cramer will not rule it out for the future though. He can’t see himself getting involved, at his age, he says, but he has a son who operates some greenhouses and it may be something for him in the years ahead.

Any suppliers of cannabis to the retail market have to be federally licensed producers.

The province asked for expressions of interest from potential suppliers in Alberta and it is currently evaluating the bids submitted.

The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission revealed in a press conference on Friday it is pleased with the response.

It was not willing to speculate on the level of demand for cannabis expected this year after the federal government decriminalizes the selling of the substance this summer. The ALGC did say it is not concerned about meeting demand in Alberta.

The product, available only through ALGC, will be delivered to cannabis retailers in sealed containers and sold like that. There will be no open product available in stores. Cannabis cannot be consumed in a retail establishment and it cannot be advertised anywhere where minors are allowed. Anyone less than 18 years old will not be allowed into the retail stores even if they are accompanied by an adult.

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