Pubdate: Wed, 17 Jul 2002
Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thenownews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340
Author: Angela MacKenzie

POCO'S POWER GROW SYSTEM HOPES FOR POT OF GOLD

Growing high quality marijuana could be as easy as plugging in a toaster, 
says Nick Brusatore.

"We just made it real simple," he says.

Brusatore and his business partner Jason Bleuler run Power Grow Systems in 
Port Coquitlam - a company which manufactures and sells hydroponic grow 
units throughout Canada, the U.S. and England.

His company, Brusatore says, has the solution to the federal government's 
quandary over how to grow a quality crop of pot for medicinal users.

Roughly four and a half feet tall, four feet wide and 30 inches deep, the 
nondescript, white aluminum units look more like medical storage cabinets 
that would be found in a pharmacy or medical office than high-powered grow 
machines. They plug into 110-volt outlets.

Power Grow's newest model, Brusatore says, is capable of yielding two 
pounds of marijuana every six weeks, using 600-watt HPS (high sodium 
pressure) lights which output two million lumens - a regular 60-watt bulb 
generates about 800 lumens. Depending on the unit size, the system's energy 
consumption (drawing less than six amps) would translate into about $12 to 
$35 a month on a person's electric bill.

The units are also made of lightweight, laser-cut aluminum and seal in any 
odours. They're made with parts approved by the Canadian Standards 
Association and Brusatore believes the system would receive approval from 
fire departments as hazard-free.

As the company's brochure states, it's the "fastest, easiest and safest way 
to grow."

Marijuana production, he says, would be controlled by restricting the 
amount of lumen exposure - the amount of light a plant receives.

By controlling the lumen levels, a person licensed to grow and use 
marijuana for medical purposes would be unable to produce more than has 
been authorized, Brusatore says.

The lights used by the system are also fitted specifically to the unit and 
cannot be replaced with ones that emit higher lumens - further insurance 
against producing more marijuana than allowed.

Brusatore says his system would eliminate the need for patients to 
experience the hassle of having to set up systems of their own or turn to 
unreliable sources. Power Grow, he says, is able to produce the same 
variety of marijuana in each unit as long as a patient requires it.

"It would take the crime element off the street," he says.

Brusatore acknowledges the possibility the system could be used illegally, 
but says the hydroponic units are legal. The company also tracked its units 
using serial numbers.

"There is a system in place," Brusatore says. "All the government has to do 
is endorse it."

Health Canada announced last summer that the federal government would allow 
marijuana to be grown and used for medical purposes. The change came 
following a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled in July 
2000 that federal laws preventing access to medical marijuana violated the 
Charter rights of a 44-year-old epileptic man, Terrence Parker.

Under the Federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulations and amendments to 
Narcotic Control Regulations, which came into effect on July 30, 2001, 
patients suffering from serious illnesses can now legally smoke marijuana. 
Patients allowed to smoke pot for medicinal purposes include those with 
terminal illnesses expected to live less than 12 months and those suffering 
from multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury or disease, cancer, AIDS/HIV, 
severe forms of arthritis and epilepsy.

Health Canada awarded a five-year, $5.7-million contract to Prairie Plant 
Systems Inc., a Saskatchewan-based company, to produce standardized 
marijuana for the government that would be used for medical and research 
purposes.

The company was to deliver its first crop, grown in a mine in Flin Flon, 
Man., to Health Canada by January 2002.

In May, however, it emerged that Health Canada had been forced to use seeds 
confiscated by police after U.S. authorities refused to provide Canada with 
reliable, tested seeds.

The crop that was grown produced 185 different varieties of pot, ranging 
widely in quality. As a result, Health Minister Anne McLellan said the 
timeline for providing marijuana to patients would be delayed.

That same month, patients granted permission to smoke pot for medical 
reasons announced they were launching a lawsuit against the federal 
government to allow them access to the federal crop and to rule existing 
laws against marijuana as unconstitutional.

"I don't want to appear that we are marijuana crusaders - we're not," 
Brusatore says, adding that he does not want to get into the legalization 
debate and is looking at the situation from a business perspective.

Brusatore spoke about his company at a public hearing held by the Senate 
Special Committee on Illegal Drugs in Richmond in mid-May, but he says he 
is still waiting to hear back from the federal government.

The federal committee, which is reviewing Canada's anti-drug legislation 
and policies on cannabis, is expected to present its final report to the 
Senate next month.

Brusatore says it's a "slap in the face" that his own government is not 
taking his offer seriously.

Power Grow, he says, is about to sign an international contract with the 
health ministry of a foreign country (which he asked not be named) 
interested in launching a pilot program that would allow pharmacists to use 
Power Grow systems to supply patients.

A large part of Power Grow's sales are generated through the U.S. market 
with a branch office located in New York, Brusatore says.

The company also has locations in Kelowna, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, 
and Brusatore says Power Grow has done about $1.8 million in sales to date.

"We've probably got one of the hottest products," he says.

Each unit retails for about $4,200 and the company has sold roughly 500 in 
the past year.

Although the company is targeting the medicinal marijuana market, Brusatore 
believes the uses for the system are infinite. Scientists working in 
extreme climates, for example, could use it to grow their own food.

Power Grow also has plans to develop a unit that would function much like a 
microwave, allowing people to grow herbicide-free, organic vegetables and 
herbs in their homes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart