The first marijuana production plant in Red Deer County will be operational come fall.
Construction began on the STIGMA Pharmaceuticals site in Clearview Industrial Park Monday.
Once the construction is completed, around early fall, the plant will produce medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana, after legalization.
Travis McIntyre, STIGMA Pharmaceuticals CEO, said company is waiting for a cultivation licence from Health Canada.
“We’re in the late stages,” he said, adding he expects the licence in June.
He said the plant will produce about 10,000 to 12,000 kilograms of marijuana per year, which will be available for sale online and in retail stores.
Once completed, the marijuana facility will be about 66,000-square feet taking up about one-and-half-acres on an eight-acre lot.
Once the plant is operational, the company will hire close to 100 employees.
McIntyre said STIGMA has plans to expand in the future and also become a publicly traded company in the next couple months.
He said he believes the marijuana industry will boost Albertan economy going forward.
“It will boost subsidiary businesses right from soil production to fertilizers to retail shops,” he said.
The company received development permits from Red Deer County in April 2017.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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