Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2014
Source: Richmond News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014, Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.richmond-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1244
Author: Graeme Wood
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDIJEAN GROWING ON CITY

At MediJean you don't need plant cuttings or even seeds to produce 
high quality marijuana, only a small cluster of plant tissue grown in 
a petri dish of jelly.

The tissue culture, or callus, can regenerate thousands of plants and 
allows MediJean's biochemists and botanists to store hundreds of 
strains in a small laboratory inside the biopharmaceutical company's 
facility on Horseshoe Way.

Using plant tissue also allows the scientists to easily manipulate 
plant DNA and crossbreed it to create super strains of weed, some 
which may be resistant to certain pests, moulds or viruses.

All in all, MediJean plans to produce close to 1,000 metric tons of 
medical marijuana within three years, should it receive Health Canada 
certification to become a licensed producer.

The highly efficient methods of growing marijuana were shown to city 
councillors on Monday, a week before MediJean goes before a public 
hearing on March 17 to receive zoning permits from the city to become 
a producer. Currently, it may only grow marijuana for research and 
development purposes.

"I was very impressed with the security systems in place," said Coun. 
Linda McPhail, noting the highly secured facility that includes a 
large vault that provides roughly 6,000 cubic feet of storage for 
15,000 kg of marijuana at one time.

MediJean CEO Jean Chiasson said an open, transparent process is 
necessary in this burgeoning business. He also said he wanted to go 
"above and beyond" in providing security for the facility as well as 
the community.

The medical marijuana industry aims to assist people with a plethora 
of medical conditions and it could soon be worth $1.3 billion. 
Chiasson said he invested $12 million of his own money into MediJean 
and that money is not the main objective.

"This is about helping Canadians," said Chiasson, who has used 
marijuana medicinally.

Presently, medical marijuana sells for $5 per gram. A daily dose is 
typically one to two grams, Chiasson said, and the market will 
determine exactly where the price levels off. MediJean may only 
produce and sell dry marijuana.

Marijuana legalization advocate Dana Larsen criticized the new Health 
Canada regulations for restricting production of marijuana-related products.

"The real benefits come from extracts and oils," said Larsen, noting 
illegally produced marijuana will remain on the streets, potentially 
causing a saturated legal market.

Larsen also thought barring existing users from growing their own was unfair.

Under the new rules, MediJean would have to receive and ship 
individual prescriptions.

Chiasson said it plans to acquire a 40,000 square foot facility in 
Richmond to grow a production-level of marijuana, potentially 
providing hundreds of people with new jobs.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom