Moncton based marijuana producer Organigram is going to supply at least 5,000 kilograms of cannabis per year to the provincial government after signing a Memorandum of Understanding.
Organigram CEO Greg Engel says they began planning for this 18 months ago.
“So our current facility is around 36,000 square feet, we’ve added 102,000 which will be ready by the end of this year, and then we’ve got another building that will be expanded that will be another 40,000 square feet,” says Engel. “So that gets us to roughly 200,000 square feet.”
Engel adds they currently employ more than 100 people in the Greater Moncton area and they’re “looking to at least double that within the next 6 to 8 months as we go forward, and probably more, so we should be in a position to have over 250 employees by the end of next year.”
“So big growth and big opportunities here in New Brunswick,” sums up Engel.
The province signed two MOUs, one with Organigram for 5,000 kilograms, and the second with Canopy Growth for 4,000 kilograms.
Govt has created a new Crown Corp to maintain full control of the sale of recreational marijuana. 2 deals equal minimum of 9 mill grams/year pic.twitter.com/DpYZAj81Xz
— Dave Heintzman (@daveheintzman) September 15, 2017
Engel says predicting the recreational market is difficult since it’s currently illegal.
“Various banks and analysts have done projections to suggest this is a $6 to $8 billion market, even that 9,000 kilograms would only be a portion of that market,” says Engel. “But I support what the province is doing in terms of starting with a level of commitment to make sure that there’s proper availability.”
Provincial Health Minister Benoit Bourque says a Crown Corporation has been formed to maintain full control of the recreational pot industry but will not be selling directly to the public.
The Crown Corporation will oversee the business on behalf of the government with health and safety as its top priorities.
Finance Minister Cathy Rogers says the Crown Corporation will eventually engage with “another entity or entities to provide that [retail] framework.”
The retail value of this deal for recreational pot is expected to be between $40 and $60 million annually, according to a press release from Organigram.
As part of this MOU, Organigram (and Canopy Growth) will help keep public safety at the forefront by contributing 2% of sales to social responsibility programs to provide ongoing education to the public.
