Weedon, Quebec now knows what’s in a name, and it’s translating into the construction of a 1.5 million-square-foot cannabis production facility.
The connection to one of the nicknames for the plant is bringing the small town a new employer in advance of the legalisation of marijuana on July 1st, 2018.
“It all worked out because we had the other elements, too,” the town’s mayor, Richard Tanguay told Radio-Canada yesterday.
“Yes, the name is a great marketing tool”
The combination of elements inspired two Canadian companies to invest in the municipality in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, 220 kilometres southeast of Montreal.
MYM Nutraceuticals is the medical marijuana producer that partnered with Montreal-based Canna Canada and is now building fifteen, 100,000-square-foot greenhouses at an old gravel pit near the town.
Expected to cost $200 million (Cdn) the second phase is planned to include an “interpretation centre,” consisting of a research facility, museum and auditorium.
Rob Gietl is the CEO of MYM Nutraceuticals. He said it was indeed the name that led its partner, Canna Canada, to look into Weedon while researching a location for the facilities.
“Yes, the name is a great marketing tool,” Gietl said with a laugh.
“But at the end of the day, it was about the perfect fit — the mayor, the council members, the city itself in terms of being able to grow and develop within the community, which is embracing this.”
Tanguay told Radio-Canada that what sealed the deal, was the municipality’s remoteness, its agro-forestry industry and its work developing a sustainability project.
According to Gietl, the company hopes to begin construction this summer and start production soon after.
He said the company is “100 per cent focusing on medical marijuana at the moment,” but that it would look into growing cannabis for recreational use.
Mayor Tanguay said the town of 2,800 people is experiencing a lull and this new project will be a huge boost to the local economy.
The new business is expected to bring at least 200 jobs and stimulate other business activity.
“One day this could make Weedon known across the world,” Tanguay said.
With files from Radio-Canada
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