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MediJean growing on city

At MediJean you don't need plant cuttings or even seeds to produce high quality marijuana, only a small cluster of plant tissue grown in a petri dish of jelly.

At MediJean you don't need plant cuttings or even seeds to produce high quality marijuana, only a small cluster of plant tissue grown in a petri dish of jelly.

The tissue culture, or callus, can regenerate thousands of plants and allows MediJean's biochemists and botanists to store hundreds of strains in a small laboratory inside the biopharmaceutical company's facility on Horseshoe Way.

Using plant tissue also allows the scientists to easily manipulate plant DNA and crossbreed it to create super strains of weed, some which may be resistant to certain pests, moulds or viruses.

All in all, MediJean plans to produce close to 1,000 metric tons of medical marijuana within three years, should it receive Health Canada certification to become a licensed producer.

The highly efficient methods of growing marijuana were shown to city councillors on Monday, a week before MediJean goes before a public hearing on March 17 to receive zoning permits from the city to become a producer. Currently, it may only grow marijuana for research and development purposes.

"I was very impressed with the security systems in place," said Coun. Linda McPhail, noting the highly secured facility that includes a large vault that provides roughly 6,000 cubic feet of storage for 15,000 kg of marijuana at one time.

MediJean CEO Jean Chiasson said an open, transparent process is necessary in this burgeoning business. He also said he wanted to go "above and beyond" in providing security for the facility as well as the community.

The medical marijuana industry aims to assist people with a plethora of medical conditions and it could soon be worth $1.3 billion. Chiasson said he invested $12 million of his own money into MediJean and that money is not the main objective.

"This is about helping Canadians," said Chiasson, who has used marijuana medicinally.

Presently, medical marijuana sells for $5 per gram. A daily dose is typically one to two grams, Chiasson said, and the market will determine exactly where the price levels off. MediJean may only produce and sell dry marijuana.

Marijuana legalization advocate Dana Larsen criticized the new Health Canada regulations for restricting production of marijuana-related products.

"The real benefits come from extracts and oils," said Larsen, noting illegally produced marijuana will remain on the streets, potentially causing a saturated legal market.

Larsen also thought barring existing users from growing their own was unfair.

Under the new rules, MediJean would have to receive and ship individual prescriptions.

Chiasson said it plans to acquire a 40,000 square foot facility in Richmond to grow a production-level of marijuana, potentially providing hundreds of people with new jobs.