Sam MacDonald., Moncton, New Brunswick, News 0

Wilson, the owner of Hidden Harvest, received approval from the Moncton Planning Advisory Committee on October 27th-the final approval he needed to begin construction of a new nursery at Dr. 555 Edinburgh.

Although Wilson was the first owner of a cannabis nursery in eastern Saskatchewan to be approved by Health Canada to start, the process from the company's 2018 idea to the transformation of its new 1,500 square foot home was arduous.

Wilson told Huddle to compare entering the cannabis industry with assembling monochromatic puzzles.

"At all levels-federal, provincial, and municipal, there are many obstacles that need to be crossed and crossed. In between, taxes, and the red tape and regulations you have to comply with can be daunting," he said.

Wilson received federal approval to grow hemp in March 2020, but when he received a letter of instructions from the province asking him to close Hidden Harvest’s original home on a 5-acre farm in Lakeville, New Hampshire, he ran into obstacles

The letter stated that the problem is that hemp can only be grown on industrial land. It mentioned changes in the province's cannabis regulations since 2019, prohibiting the production of indoor cannabis on agricultural land.

As a nursery, Hidden Harvest only produces clones (branches cut from living plants and grows into their own plants) and seeds to sell to other companies.

"From a zoning point of view, there are some differences in the allowed range... I had to stop operations. I said,'Well, it makes no sense to me. A few months ago, you said it was good. So I continue to hold my license-we went to court on it," Wilson said.

Wilson lost the battle in court and was ordered to close his Lakeville factory.

The facility is still open but not used because it meets federal guidelines but does not meet provincial or municipal guidelines. Wilson closed operations and removed all plants and seeds from the site in June 2021 to comply with court orders. But he still got permission from Health Canada, so he started looking for industrial facilities to open his nursery.

"For all intents and purposes, once we get permission for the new site, we will only have one site to run-but we will get permission for two sites," he pointed out.

Wilson said he planned to wait and see what he did with the Lakeville factory, which is now dormant.

"Maybe within a year or two...may change our minds and they allow us to operate small cannabis nurseries on the farmland," he said.

If the provincial regulations do not change, Wilson will close the Lakeville location and continue driving only at 555 Edinburgh.

It took three months for the hot real estate market in Greater Moncton; it took Wilson two months to obtain municipal approval before starting the project; the new home took the same amount of time to adapt.

Wilson told Huddle that the renovation cost of the new nursery was about $100,000. They require floors, ceilings and walls to be covered with washable surfaces, such as epoxy resin for floors and Trusscore PVC panels for ceilings and walls.

"We are very busy recruiting merchants and materials. Due to the cost of materials and the scarcity of labor, now is not the best time to carry out construction, but this is the cannabis industry. You need a lot of perseverance and cheeky," he said.

The space also requires a new air filtration system, electrical infrastructure, plumbing, steel doors and partition walls.

"You don't need a million square feet of greenhouse to grow clones and seeds. You can do this in 1,500 square feet of space, especially when using racks and 12-foot ceilings," Wilson points out.

Although regulatory hurdles are a thorn in his eyes, Wilson said that the silver lining is Hidden Harvest's new location in the center of the metropolitan area that will allow it to better adapt to Cannabis NB's FarmGate retail plan as it launches in the next few months.

The FarmGate program announced by the Royal Company in late August allows licensed cannabis producers to sell their products in their factories.

"I thought,'Well, maybe this shutdown and restart is good for the company. We will see a longer-term situation, but I am optimistic and excited about our cannabis development in New Brunswick," he said .

Wilson also serves as a director of the New Brunswick Craft Hemp Association, leading the association’s efforts to promote a retail model that will become the FarmGate program.

Wilson said that based on FarmGate's sales, Hidden Harvest's three employees may increase in the next few months.

"With FarmGate, we can directly enter the retail market. This is an unproven market, so we don't know how many people grow at home or want to buy clones to grow at home. We can only wait and see," he said.

Regardless of the outcome, Wilson believes that FarmGate will provide the greatest benefits to small "craft" microprocessors and cannabis micro-growers by "launching high-quality products that are of interest to the market."

"This will be an fascinating market in the next ten years because we all know what the market will do and what customers want."

Wilson said his ability to develop and cultivate new plants attracted him to the nursery side of the cannabis industry, noting that it is difficult to predict how many clones he will grow once the Moncton facility is operational.

Although he can store seeds, Wilson said he cannot do the same with clones and must destroy those he does not sell.

"The only reason we make the cannabis plant bloom is to cross it with another variety and harvest the seeds and destroy the cannabis and cannabis plants," he said.

Wilson, the retired co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Cameron Stewart LifeScience, said he discovered an interest in cannabis while working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Before retiring from Cameron Stewart in 2015, Wilson's work included consultations with Amsterdam-based Bedrocan, one of the most experienced licensed medicinal cannabis producers in the world, starting in 2013.

"That was when I dipped my toe into the marijuana field," he said.

 Working with Organigram, Hidden Harvest’s new former customer, Wilson said that he hopes to rebuild strong business relationships with it and other Canadian Atlantic cannabis producers.

“You have about 10 in New Brunswick, 20 in Nova Scotia, and four in PEI—this is my customer base,” he said.

Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protection]

Fredericton, Moncton, New Brunswick, News, St. John

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