Nova Scotia’s first licensed cannabis producer planning to add 30 to 40 more employees

Nova Scotia’s first producer of licensed cannabis is expecting to need to fill 30 to 40 jobs by the time the full production begins on its products.

“Those will all be well-paid jobs with full benefits, and certainly they’re jobs that are needed throughout Nova Scotia,” Bill Sanford, CEO of Breathing Green Solutions, said at the company’s facility in Wentworth, N.S., on Tuesday.

The jobs will be based in that area, and six full-time jobs have already been filled.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia gets its first licensed marijuana producer: Breathing Green Solutions

The company, which began about four years ago, was issued its licence last week.

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In a tour for Global News, one of seven growing rooms — or “bud rooms,” as Joe Sanford, operations manager, said — was showed off.

The all-white room has pipes to support 90 plants; other rooms can support 75-120 plants. When the extensive lighting system was turned on, the room was illuminated in slightly eye-waveringly bright tungsten.

The plants stay in the room for about two months.

About 45 kg worth of cannabis products will be produced per week, said Joe.

READ MORE: Moncton medical marijuana dispensaries vow to serve patients regardless of RCMP threat

The finished products are going to be kept in a vault. The facility is supervised at all hours and has two fence barriers, among other security measures.

There is also a security camera system “basically designed like a casino; every move is watched in this facility,” said Joe.

The facility was previously a military building, according to Bill, and has since been expanded.

He said that one of the challenges is that there aren’t many debt financing opportunities for players in this kind of industry.

“We have friends and family investors, over 80 of them, most Maritime-based and certainly all people that we have some kind of connection with,” said Bill.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have friends and family investors, over 80 of them, most Maritime-based and certainly all people that we have some kind of connection with," said Bill.

The plan is to start growing the test plants later this week.

If all goes according to plan, products should be available by around late April or early May.

The aim is to provide products for medicinal and recreational uses.