Alberta cannabis company to build facility in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - An Alberta cannabis production company is expected to produce millions of grams of cannabis each year after expanding to Kamloops.
Sundial Growers announced this week it had entered into a memorandum of understanding to become a supplier of up to 20 million grams of cannabis and products derived from cannabis each year to the Alliance of Beverage Licensees, the advocacy group representing B.C.'s private liquor industry.
“This strategic partnership marks another important milestone for Sundial as we prepare to enter the consumer market," Torsten Kuenzlen says in a media release. "We will initially supply the B.C. market with cannabis products produced in Alberta with a plan to shift that production to B.C. when our facility in Kamloops is licensed and operational."
All clauses in the memorandum are pending provincial and Health Canada regulations and approvals, according to the release.
The company says it currently operates a 31,000-square-foot production facility in Rocky View, Alta. and has two separate production facilities in various stages of completion and licensing.
Sundial's chief marketing and product officer, Ryan Hellard, tells iNFOnews.ca the company is a Health Canada licenced cannabis producer and they're happy with how legalization talks have been going.
"Both the provincial and the federal regulatory bodies have been really forthcoming and helpful with the regulations that they're proposing," Hellard says. "They’ve been very open with the process so far."
Hellard says he's not concerned about potential delays so far that could hold off on a July legalization date.
"I think the delays we’re seeing are weeks or months," he says. "I think legalisation will definitely happen in 2018."
As for who Sundial serves, their distribution is limited to registered patients under Health Canada, and Sundial directly mails cannabis to them.
Hellard adds a number of full time jobs will be available once the Kamloops facility is open, with up to 100 full time positions when extraction and distribution begins.
"We see a long term benefit to having a facility in B.C.," Hellard says. "It's one of the largest provinces in Canada, a large market place."
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