Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A British Columbia region's legacy of Vietnam War draft dodgers and illicit cannabis gardens wants a place at the legalized recreational marijuana table.
Fears that corporate cannabis producers could accomplish what law enforcement never could – uproot the Kootenay region's famed marijuana cultivators – has local producers mobilizing to protect what they call a longtime bedrock of their local economy.
"There's been a lot of grey and black-market cannabis growers here for a long time and we don't want to lose that business," said Todd Veri, president of the fledgling Kootenay Outdoor Producer Co-op.
"It's been driving our economy for four decades."
Weed in the Kootenays has long been an economic lynchpin worth billions of dollars, supplemented by a tourism trade heavily bolstered by southern Albertans attracted by its beaches, pristine lakes and old-growth forests.
What Veri, who was drawn to the southern B.C. interior 20 years ago by the lure of green gold, is seeking is federal legal sanction to produce cannabis under an outdoor co-operative model.
It would start with a dozen one-hectare farms feeding a central processing facility, an operation that could initially generate $20 million in revenue and 300 to 400 seasonal jobs, he said.
With Ottawa and the provinces laboring to hash out regulatory and legal details to meet next summer's legalization deadline, Veri says now is the time for local growers to get their feet in the door.
"We're not sure the regulations are going to allow some of the nuances involved . . . we want to make sure we don't get overlooked," he said.
The region's pot pedigree is a rich one, said Kaslo resident Veri, who quickly discovered the area's reputation wasn't smoke and mirrors when he first arrived in 1997.
In one cluster of 28 homes near where he lived, occupants of 22 of them were involved in cultivating marijuana, he said.
"These were professional people, dentists, a school principal, lawyers," said Veri, adding he hasn't grown the plant for 17 years.
"People here have been growing in Crown forests for 40 years . . . it's safe to say it's everywhere."
It's believed 40 per cent of Canada's marijuana is grown in the region, a big chunk of a B.C. cash crop worth as much as $7 billion.
The reputation of Kootenay bud grew lucratively to attract the attentions of the massive California market, with the changing of American greenbacks to Canadian currency becoming a staple of local commerce, said Veri.
Today, the free-spirited town of Nelson is home to 10,500 people and six marijuana dispensaries, supplied partly by local growers whose wares are laid out in display cases.
By contrast, Calgary, with a population of nearly 1.3 million, has none selling cannabis on site.
Last May, Veri and his cohorts hosted a meeting near Nelson to gauge investor-producer interest and were swamped by the response.
"A hundred people showed up from two hours north and two hours south, we had to weed them out to find the 12 farmers," he said.
"I had to do interviews to select a board of directors; I had to take resumes, there were so many people coming forward."
That co-op concept would be an ideal way to preserve both existing cannabis businesses and the region's marijuana legacy, said Frederick Pels, president of the Green Room, a dispensary in Nelson.
"What we're talking about is inclusion, and we're facing the same issues as growers," said Pels.
The last thing Pels wants to see is a government-operated distribution system that would disrupt the network now enjoyed by his shop and its 4,000 Nelson-area clients who can choose from 20 to 50 strains of bud, hashish, distillates and butters.
A popular variety recently has been a hybrid dubbed Mayor Maglio – the namesake of a Nelson mayor of the 1960s and 70s.
"People loved the name and product," said Pels, adding another revered, locally produced bud goes by the handle Grape God, an Indica hybrid that one dispensary website describes as offering "a sweet grape aroma" and "long-lasting euphoria."
It's likely some of that strain's local producers, who supply 30 to 40 per cent of the Green Room's bud, would be part of the new co-operative, he said.
And that's just as it should be after recreational legalization kicks in, said Pels.
"I'd like to see everything regulated, a thriving industry instead of a black-market one – and the heritage of it has to be acknowledged," he said.
Another factor in that regional loyalty, said Pels, is quality that years of strain development ensures.
"The Kootenays have been a source of cannabis for a very long time and the quality speaks for how long a particular grower has been at it," he said.
"These growers, they don't make that much money and they've been doing it for generations."
Locally hobbling any cartel in what's now dubbed "big pot" – industrial-size growers who are nurturing a major presence in Alberta – is definitely top of mind among many in the Kootenays, said Philip McMillan, facilities director on the Nelson Compassion Club dispensary.
"There's definitely a movement in B.C. to keep the craft side of things," said McMillan, who adds he only vaguely knows a roster of regular Kootenay suppliers and wants to keep it that way for legal reasons.
But while he applauds the Kootenay co-operative concept, he's not as concerned about the fate of the region's small, and sometimes illicit, players.
"Even with a heavily regulated industry and one monopolized by corporations, there'll be lots of room for a black market," said McMillan.
"Be it recreational or medicinal, it can be spread around."
McMillan calls himself a pioneer of the Nelson legitimate cannabis scene, having set up the compassionate club 18 years ago after becoming fed up by "having to send 80-year-olds to the bus stop to buy weed from teenagers."
Chris Campbell, who operates Nelson's Potorium dispensary, said she's hopeful regulation left to the provinces would be sensitive to current business realities.
"My hope would be consideration to allow dispensaries to license producers who they already have a good rapport with," said Campbell.
Quality standards and control should be as easy to apply to smaller licensed growers as it is with vast-scale growers, she added.
The proof of that is in her dispensary's clientele, said Campbell.
"We do get a lot of Albertans because we have a lot of product their licensed providers do not," she said.
An official with Health Canada directed Postmedia to a ministry website page that insists there are few numerical roadblocks in the way of law-abiding, prospective cannabis producers.
"The Government of Canada has no plans to limit the number of licenses that would be issued," it states.
"Additional details as to how the licensing regime will be administered will be developed further in the months ahead."
It also says legislation targeting industry monopolies will apply to marijuana legalization.
Cannabis co-op president Veri isn't so sure, given the enduring uncertainties so rife amid the country's unprecedented legalization roll out.
"There's a lot of confusion right now," he said, adding his inquiries to Ottawa have so far gone unanswered.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Kootenays growers wary of being pushed aside by corporate cannabis producers | A
Author: Bill Kaufmann
Contact: Contact us | Calgary Sun
Photo Credit: ANDREW SELSKY
Website: Calgary Sun
Fears that corporate cannabis producers could accomplish what law enforcement never could – uproot the Kootenay region's famed marijuana cultivators – has local producers mobilizing to protect what they call a longtime bedrock of their local economy.
"There's been a lot of grey and black-market cannabis growers here for a long time and we don't want to lose that business," said Todd Veri, president of the fledgling Kootenay Outdoor Producer Co-op.
"It's been driving our economy for four decades."
Weed in the Kootenays has long been an economic lynchpin worth billions of dollars, supplemented by a tourism trade heavily bolstered by southern Albertans attracted by its beaches, pristine lakes and old-growth forests.
What Veri, who was drawn to the southern B.C. interior 20 years ago by the lure of green gold, is seeking is federal legal sanction to produce cannabis under an outdoor co-operative model.
It would start with a dozen one-hectare farms feeding a central processing facility, an operation that could initially generate $20 million in revenue and 300 to 400 seasonal jobs, he said.
With Ottawa and the provinces laboring to hash out regulatory and legal details to meet next summer's legalization deadline, Veri says now is the time for local growers to get their feet in the door.
"We're not sure the regulations are going to allow some of the nuances involved . . . we want to make sure we don't get overlooked," he said.
The region's pot pedigree is a rich one, said Kaslo resident Veri, who quickly discovered the area's reputation wasn't smoke and mirrors when he first arrived in 1997.
In one cluster of 28 homes near where he lived, occupants of 22 of them were involved in cultivating marijuana, he said.
"These were professional people, dentists, a school principal, lawyers," said Veri, adding he hasn't grown the plant for 17 years.
"People here have been growing in Crown forests for 40 years . . . it's safe to say it's everywhere."
It's believed 40 per cent of Canada's marijuana is grown in the region, a big chunk of a B.C. cash crop worth as much as $7 billion.
The reputation of Kootenay bud grew lucratively to attract the attentions of the massive California market, with the changing of American greenbacks to Canadian currency becoming a staple of local commerce, said Veri.
Today, the free-spirited town of Nelson is home to 10,500 people and six marijuana dispensaries, supplied partly by local growers whose wares are laid out in display cases.
By contrast, Calgary, with a population of nearly 1.3 million, has none selling cannabis on site.
Last May, Veri and his cohorts hosted a meeting near Nelson to gauge investor-producer interest and were swamped by the response.
"A hundred people showed up from two hours north and two hours south, we had to weed them out to find the 12 farmers," he said.
"I had to do interviews to select a board of directors; I had to take resumes, there were so many people coming forward."
That co-op concept would be an ideal way to preserve both existing cannabis businesses and the region's marijuana legacy, said Frederick Pels, president of the Green Room, a dispensary in Nelson.
"What we're talking about is inclusion, and we're facing the same issues as growers," said Pels.
The last thing Pels wants to see is a government-operated distribution system that would disrupt the network now enjoyed by his shop and its 4,000 Nelson-area clients who can choose from 20 to 50 strains of bud, hashish, distillates and butters.
A popular variety recently has been a hybrid dubbed Mayor Maglio – the namesake of a Nelson mayor of the 1960s and 70s.
"People loved the name and product," said Pels, adding another revered, locally produced bud goes by the handle Grape God, an Indica hybrid that one dispensary website describes as offering "a sweet grape aroma" and "long-lasting euphoria."
It's likely some of that strain's local producers, who supply 30 to 40 per cent of the Green Room's bud, would be part of the new co-operative, he said.
And that's just as it should be after recreational legalization kicks in, said Pels.
"I'd like to see everything regulated, a thriving industry instead of a black-market one – and the heritage of it has to be acknowledged," he said.
Another factor in that regional loyalty, said Pels, is quality that years of strain development ensures.
"The Kootenays have been a source of cannabis for a very long time and the quality speaks for how long a particular grower has been at it," he said.
"These growers, they don't make that much money and they've been doing it for generations."
Locally hobbling any cartel in what's now dubbed "big pot" – industrial-size growers who are nurturing a major presence in Alberta – is definitely top of mind among many in the Kootenays, said Philip McMillan, facilities director on the Nelson Compassion Club dispensary.
"There's definitely a movement in B.C. to keep the craft side of things," said McMillan, who adds he only vaguely knows a roster of regular Kootenay suppliers and wants to keep it that way for legal reasons.
But while he applauds the Kootenay co-operative concept, he's not as concerned about the fate of the region's small, and sometimes illicit, players.
"Even with a heavily regulated industry and one monopolized by corporations, there'll be lots of room for a black market," said McMillan.
"Be it recreational or medicinal, it can be spread around."
McMillan calls himself a pioneer of the Nelson legitimate cannabis scene, having set up the compassionate club 18 years ago after becoming fed up by "having to send 80-year-olds to the bus stop to buy weed from teenagers."
Chris Campbell, who operates Nelson's Potorium dispensary, said she's hopeful regulation left to the provinces would be sensitive to current business realities.
"My hope would be consideration to allow dispensaries to license producers who they already have a good rapport with," said Campbell.
Quality standards and control should be as easy to apply to smaller licensed growers as it is with vast-scale growers, she added.
The proof of that is in her dispensary's clientele, said Campbell.
"We do get a lot of Albertans because we have a lot of product their licensed providers do not," she said.
An official with Health Canada directed Postmedia to a ministry website page that insists there are few numerical roadblocks in the way of law-abiding, prospective cannabis producers.
"The Government of Canada has no plans to limit the number of licenses that would be issued," it states.
"Additional details as to how the licensing regime will be administered will be developed further in the months ahead."
It also says legislation targeting industry monopolies will apply to marijuana legalization.
Cannabis co-op president Veri isn't so sure, given the enduring uncertainties so rife amid the country's unprecedented legalization roll out.
"There's a lot of confusion right now," he said, adding his inquiries to Ottawa have so far gone unanswered.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Kootenays growers wary of being pushed aside by corporate cannabis producers | A
Author: Bill Kaufmann
Contact: Contact us | Calgary Sun
Photo Credit: ANDREW SELSKY
Website: Calgary Sun