A newly licensed northeastern Ontario grower of cannabis is considering growing its crop outdoors.
48North Cannabis Corp. said it is “actively investigating” sun-grown cannabis on its 800-acre property near Kirkland Lake following Health Canada's recent decision to legalize growing crops outdoors.
The recreational market opens nation-wide on Oct. 17. The new rules for outdoor growing should be in place for next year’s growing season.
"48North applauds the federal government's decision to allow for commercial outdoor cultivation," said CEO Alison Gordon in a June 28 statement.
The former Ministry of Natural Resources tree nursery the company owns is “well-suited” to grow cannabis in a more environmentally sustainable way, requiring less electricity and leaving a reduced carbon footprint.
“By growing cannabis outdoors, we expect that we will be able to significantly reduce our cost of production by eliminating costs associated with indoor commercial growing,” said Gordon.
"We will continue to grow high-grade cannabis at our state-of-the-art indoor growing facility and plan to use outdoor crops as a lower-cost source of cannabis for our women's health and wellness products."
48North expects to begin the licensing process for sun grown cannabis once the new regulations come into effect.”
48North Cannabis Corp. is the parent company of DelShen Therapeutics, which renovated a 40,000-square-foot building near the Town of Kirkland capable of producing 2,500 kilograms annual.
There’s also an additional 200,000 square feet of potential production space within a larger secured perimeter.
