OLDS — Town council has passed a bylaw to enable a cannabis production company to set up in northeast Olds.
The company, Seep Cannabis, founded by former Olds Grizzly junior A hockey player Tyr Thompson, will be located in two lots at 4218 46th Ave., in an industrial area at the corner of Highway 2A and 43rd Street.
In order to enable the company to operate there, the area had to be rezoned from Light lndustrial District (11) to Direct Control District 7 (DC7). By law, all cannabis production facilities in Olds must fall under that zoning.
During an interview with the Albertan, Thompson said his company will take cannabis plants grown elsewhere by suppliers, extract oil from them and infuse that oil into a small pouch for purchase.
“It’s like a substitute for chewing tobacco as well as being a cannabis product,” Thompson said.
“It has multiple purposes, like with it being a cannabis product as well as being a tobacco alternative. It is meant to be kind of a fill-in for nicotine users as well.
“So I’m going sort of a health-conscious route as well to try to lessen the use of nicotine too.”
Thompson said he came up with the idea to start the company here after coming back from school in the U.S., where he said a similar product is sold.
Thompson told council that back in November, his company applied to Health Canada for a licence to operate the business. He anticipates obtaining that licence in about six months.
During the interview, it was noted that there was a kind of gold rush after cannabis use was legalized in Canada in 2017. Many companies started up or expanded.
However, since then, there’s been a lot of retrenching in the cannabis production industry.
Given that, Thompson was asked if this is a risky time to get into the cannabis market.
Thompson said he’s confident his company will succeed because it’s filling a niche.
"Our product is coming to the market at a time where there’s nothing else like it on the market, so we’re almost filling a hole in the market if you want to word it like that, because there’s nothing else like it. There’s a hole in the market, so we’re trying to take advantage of that,“ he said.
The bylaw to create the rezoning came up for a public hearing and potential passage during council’s Feb. 27 meeting.
Sarmad Abbasi of Parkland Community Planning Services said notice of the proposed change had been circulated to adjacent land owners and none had expressed any objections.
During the hearing, councillors asked several questions about the company and Thompon’s plans.
Coun. Darren Wilson asked how many jobs it would likely create.
Thompson said to begin with, it would likely only employ one to five workers who would be manufacturing the product, packaging it and labelling it.
“It’s definitely more of a micro-processing company and a craft company, so it wouldn’t be a huge employment impact like say, Sundial (Growers),” he said.
Coun. Heather Ryan expressed concern about possible odours emanating from the business’s waste. She noted that was a concern with Sundial’s operation.
Thompson said the building will be equipped with special air filters to take out cannabis smells as part of Health Canada’s requirements for operation.
He doubted there’d be much waste because he anticipates the plant will utilize “95 per cent of what comes through our door.”
However, Thompson said the remainder can be “discarded just in a green bin, because it’s just – it's an organic material.”
Ryan wasn’t mollified by that.
Before operating, the business will have to obtain a development permit approved by the town. Ryan said she’d like to see the odour problem addressed as one of the conditions of that development permit.
Coun. James Cummings wondered whether things like odour elimination are dealt with by the province in its licensing requirements, rather than by the town.
Abbasi wasn’t sure. He said he’d have to check.
Coun. Wanda Blatz wanted to make sure no retail sales would occur at the business.
Abbasi said that concern could be dealt with via development permit conditions, as could hours of operation as well.
Thompson was asked what sort of security he’ll have at the facility.
He said there’s a security system in place already because it’s a controlled substance.
In his final comments, Abbasi said the proposed location for the business is basically ideal.
“It’s very tucked away and a lot of the concerns that may have been noted, if this was proposed in a residential area or even nearby, it would be a lot more worthy of scrutiny.
“Not that it isn’t now, but I would definitely say that this is the most ideal location that I would recommend for a use like this to be located,” he said.
