Local medical marijuana producer breaks ground for massive expansion

CTV Barrie: Peace Naturals expansion Local medical marijuana supplier Peace Naturals broke ground for a massive expansion in Clearview. Roger Klein reports.

A massive expansion is now underway for a project that could make Clearview Township the cannabis capital of Canada.

A ceremonial ground breaking was held Tuesday for licensed medicinal cannabis producer  Peace Naturals. The company is expanding its operations in the township with a new 315,000 sq. ft. facility that is expected to be the largest purpose-built indoor cannabis production facility in the world .

The expansion includes a state-of-the-art 286,000 sq. ft. production facility, a 28,000 sq. ft. greenhouse, and an additional 1,200 sq. ft. extraction laboratory.

"The New Facility will serve as Cronos' center of excellence, providing a platform for top plant scientists, chemists and pharmacologists to advance the science of cannabis,” said Mike Gorenstein , CEO of Cronos Group

Peace Naturals was the first company in Canada to be licenced by Health Canada to grow medicinal marijuana and to sell extractions. The expansion will bring Peace Naturals  total estimated production capacity to 40,000 KG on an annualized basis.

"Over the past six months, we've compiled research on numerous methodologies, ultimately culminating in a state-of-the-art facility that integrates lean manufacturing, production efficiencies, and commercial agricultural best practices,” said Peace Naturals COO David Hsu.

The greenhouse will be used to collect data and implement advanced cultivation techniques.

The extraction lab will be connected to the greenhouse and will augment capabilities in both purification and recombination of cannabinoid compounds to create innovative formulated products, the company said.

More than 50 people currently work at Peace Naturals and with the expansion there is the potential for 100 new jobs.

Completion of both the Greenhouse and Extraction Lab are expected by the end of summer 2017.

The expansion is expected to be fully operational by summer 2018.

-With a report from CTV Barrie's Roger Klein