Medical Cannabis In Canada Reports Robust Economy; Expansion Approved

Tilray, a marijuana grower in Nanaimo, British Columbia, has reported around C$3.2 million ($3.3 million) direct wages and C$48.1 million total economic output in only a year of operations. With its robust revenue output, the city council has approved in a resolution Tilray’s bid for an expansion.

Mayor Bill McKay assured the locals the federally-licensed producer will continue to contribute efforts in providing a source of livelihood as it gears for an expansion. The current facility of Tilray measures 65,000 square foot. Last year, during its construction and operation, it cultivated 395 jobs.

“When they are involved in their building process, 95 percent of the contractors were locals, so you can imagine when you are going from a 65,000 square foot-facility to a 265,000 square foot-facility — that is good jobs, that is great impact,” the mayor told The Early Edition with Rick Cluff.

Tilray began its operations in April 2014 and has since served 4,000 clients. Its current employees are 140. But once the expansion will start, more locals are expected to be employed.

In its Economic Impacts of Tilray In Nanaimo Report, in its first nine months of operation, Tilray generated C$12.7 million in total economic output in British Columbia, C$9.9 million in provincial Gross Domestic Product and C$2.6 million in tax revenue for all three levels of government. It further reported that its proposed expansion is projected to grow its scale by four to five times. The worth of its expansion in British Columbia is C$64.7 million. The tax revenue for all three levels of government will reach approximately C$20 million.

Mckay said concerns about marijuana’s potential smell were aired by the locals before the facility began its construction. But since the facility is located within the industrial area, the residents were far from any health dangers. When it comes to security, McKay likened the facility to Bank of Canada. The expansion is set to complete in 18 months.

In 2001, Health Canada regulates access to cannabis for medical reasons. In Australia, drugs, including cannabis, are grouped in schedule. Cannabis is schedule 9, which means it is prohibited unless when it is separately specified in the schedules or when the processed hemp fibre containing 0.1 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol and products are produced from such fibre.

For comments or feedback on the article, contact the writer at kizmet@ymail.com.