Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2015
Source: Kincardine News (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.kincardinenews.com/letters
Website: http://www.kincardinenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2186
Author: Troy Patterson
Page: A1

AMMCAN LAYS OFF WORKERS UNTIL HEALTH CANADA INSPECTION

Kincardine's medical marihuana facility has laid off its 15 workers,
and management will continue to operate at zero salary while they
await a Health Canada inspection of the completed facility.

Advanced Medical Marihuana Canada (AMMCan), a subsidiary of Supreme
Pharmaceutical, has spent over $500,000 in upkeep costs since Dec. 12,
2014, when it informed the federal government that renovations were
completed and it was ready for inspection of the pharmaceutical
marihuana facility at the Bruce Energy Centre, off Bruce Road 20 near
Lake Huron.

AMMCan president Peter Herburger said they had hoped inspections would
have come sooner within the estimated six-month window for
inspections, so after five months of waiting the company is tightening
up financially until inspectors arrive.

Herburger said he explained the situation to his "family" of workers,
of which a number of senior staff will stay on at no cost until
inspectors arrive.

"We're extremely disappointed in having to take the actions we did,"
Herburger said. "The process of obtaining our license to grow and sell
medical marijuana has taken much longer than anticipated. Having said
that, these layoffs are temporary and we remain dedicated to the
Kincardine area and our mission as a company."

Having been in contact with Health Canada officials a number of times
in the past few months, Herburger said although they're ready for
production, there are many companies waiting on the federal
government's approval.

"I expect Health Canada is overwhelmed with the sheer amount of
applications and that is the reason for the delay," Herburger said.

Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb said Health Canada public servants are dealing
with about 1,300 similar applications and said AMMCan is still within
the four to six month timeline for inspection.

"That's what takes up the department's time, there are only so many
inspectors and they're doing their best," he said. "(AMMCan) knows the
timeline. But I'm pretty confident they'll get their inspection in the
near-term."

Lobb said he's been in regular contact with AMMCan staff, has visited
the facility "a couple of times" and was sympathetic to their concerns.

"The facility is great," Lobb said. "We've done all we can. It's in
the hands of the public servants at Health Canada."

Of the entire 340,000-square-foot facility, AMMCan has prepared about
16,000-square-feet of growing area in 'Phase Zero,' which currently
sits empty, glowing white and sitting in state.

"When we pass the inspection we'll be able to start growing," he
said.

With another 40,000-square-feet used for offices, a production and
processing area, product vault and shipping across multiple levels of
internal and external security, the company has transformed the former
produce greenhouses into a medical-grade production facility.

"We are literally a pharmaceutical place now, we're no longer a
greenhouse other than we have glass on the roof," Herburger said.

The layoffs were necessary as part of their financial restraint,
considering the four-month growing period required after their
inspection is approved to produce their first crop, Herburger said.
The product will then need to be inspected in a lab for quality,
purity and potency as the final point of the seven-step process that
began in early 2014.

"We have to make sure our product is 100% safe, so no contaminants of
any kind," he said. "We have to be 100% sure we know how much we grow,
how much we have, how much we sell and where it goes. So it is
literally, every step of the process is 100% documented."

Only after the product is tested will AMMCan secure a "license to
sell." After that point, Herburger said they expect the facility to be
inspected monthly to ensure security, safety, record keeping and
facility upkeep is met and regulations continue to be followed and
kept up to date.

"So the whole system of being able to grow, produce and sell,
everything involved we are ready," he said. "A very heavy weight is on
security, record keeping and safety."

The first batch of medical-grade marihuana is expected to be about
50kg for federal testing. Once into full production, the facility will
have about 20 staff producing about 6,000kg of marihuana a year at
'Phase Zero'. 'Phase 1' would increase the facility by 80,000 square
feet,' with Phases 2-4 increasing the building envelope as years
progress, employing upwards of 100 people at peak.

"It's not about if Health Canada will come, it's when," said
Herburger. "We firmly believe in this project. We plan on being a
major employer in this area for many years to come."
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MAP posted-by: Matt