Medical marijuana production is now in full swing at Mettrum Health Corp’s Agripharm facility at Cashtown Corners.
Peter Miller of Agripharm submitted a licence to grow medical marijuana to Health Canada in early 2013. That winter, he met Michael Haines of Mettrum Ltd. in Bowmanville who was already a licensed producer under the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). In June, they joined forces and a new parent company, Mettrum Health Corp, ultimately acquired Agripharm Corp in its entirety. Mettrum Health Corp is now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Miller said Agripharm remains Creemore-based and continues to run with the same management and staff.
“Since our inception, we have focused on being positive members of the community and we hope to continue supporting the local economy for the long term,” he said.
On Dec. 11, Health Canada issued the medical marijuana licence to Agripharm Corp and according to Miller, “we immediately brought in the starting materials. Due to the strength and experience of the Mettrum team in Bowmanville, we were able to hit the ground running.”
The 15,000-square-foot facility sits on 80 acres of land and is currently licensed for an estimated capacity of 9,000 marijuana plants over the next six months. It was built using state-of-the-art modular construction techniques that will allow for rapid expansion as required.
“Our production output will be determined by demand. The great thing about being where we are is that we have plenty of room to grow and we have access to many talented people to help us do it,” said Miller.
At present, the Agripharm facility will focus on growing, the most energy and labour intensive aspects of the supply chain. Mature plants will then be transferred to the Mettrum facility in Bowmanville, where they will be processed into dried marijuana, quality assured and sold.
Miller said Agripharm started with a workforce of about one dozen full- and part-time employees and the company will be hiring in the coming weeks and months to meet market demand.
