Pubdate: Tue, 17 Dec 2013
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 Canoe Inc
Contact:  http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Michael Mui

RICHMOND FIRM TARGETS ADVANCES IN MEDICINAL POT

MediJean has invested millions to develop new strains of medical
marijuana to aid in the treatment of a variety of ailments

A Richmond company has collected 224 marijuana strains from around the
globe and has brought them to its fortress-like lab to break the
plants down to DNA levels and breed them to treat disease.

MediJean's ambitions - strictly designed following Health Canada's new
rules on having secure pot facilities - are to eventually set up
production capacity on a global scale to supply patients with
treatments for ailments ranging from cancer to multiple sclerosis to
epilepsy, among others, according to CEO Jean Chiasson.

His facility, strategically located next to a Richmond RCMP station,
has a security level just one step below that of military bases.
Cameras are everywhere and check ins and outs for visitors are
mandatory. Photographing security devices is strictly forbidden, while
its address is withheld for security reasons.

A vault - the centre of what could eventually be a massive
distribution system - currently sits empty until the company secures a
production licence from Health Canada.

Inside its main lab, scientists tinker with 40 newly developed
strains, later moving them to "breeding rooms" and mixing them to
create hybrids.

Up to 1,200 new strains can be created in a year.

"We might have two super elite MS (treatment) strains and we're
putting them together to create a new strain that might have even
greater potential to heal," said R&D director Charles Scott.

Unlike many existing medical "grow-ops" - which could be little more
than licensees allowed to cultivate pot at home - MediJean staff, many
garbed in spotless white lab coats, work to alter the very chemical
footprint of existing species.

This is done by breeding to control the amounts of four key
ingredients inside the plants, the most common being THC - what gets
people high - and balancing it with its lesser-known ingredients to
create different effects.

One strain, for example, has completely eliminated the odour, Chiasson
said. Tests are also being done to figure out how marijuana could be
consumed in pill or other forms - though Health Canada currently only
permits dried herb.

The company said a Health Canada production licence is "imminent."
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MAP posted-by: Matt