Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
With a sizable investment and a failed bid for a state medical marijuana license behind them, Modern Corp.'s chief operating officer said the company has taken the loss in stride and will continue to expand its agriculture business at the H2Gro facility.
Despite the lost opportunity to cultivate medical marijuana in Lewiston, Gary Smith, COO for Modern Corp., said that he has been in recent contact with produce vendors interested in the company's stock.
Modern Corp., in April, made public the specifics of its medical marijuana bid and touted a nearly $1 million investment, including a baseline $250,000 application fee for one of the state Department of Health's five medical licenses. With a failure in the first round, Smith said his company will be quick to bounce back.
"To be honest, the investors took the great risk, but the company didn't have its own money in there," he said.
Previously, Smith and company has farmed out its organic tomato crops to local supermarkets in the cities of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and has even sent crops as far as Whole Foods facilities in New York City.
Smith said all previous vendors are in mind, with the plan to increase production to potentially include cucumber, eggplant, specialty tomatoes and another green intoxicant – hops.
"There isn't really time to switch to another crop this season," Smith said. "We're looking at a longer term for other crops with a minimum for next season."
In the meantime, Smith said, his company is looking to streamline its current production methods and expand its marketing outreach.
"We have meetings with different vendors that might put us in a different direction with what we're growing and how we're growing it," Smith said.
The company's license bid was complicated when a May warrant was served to their acting lobbyist, G. Steve Pigeon. According to records available through the Join Commission on Public Ethics, Pigeon ranked among the top paid representatives pushing for a medical marijuana license in New York.
Pigeon formerly served under a $25,000 per month contract until FBI and New York State Police personnel carried boxes of computers and files from his Buffalo home.
"We'll never know what kind of impact that had," Smith said. "But it sure didn't help when someone gets raided by the FBI the week before your application went in."
The medical marijuana opportunity was championed by local lawmakers as a significant economic opportunity for the area. Previously, Lewiston's Democratic Assemblyman John Ceretto supported Modern's effort and praised the possible specialized jobs that could be brought in by the bid.
On Saturday, Ceretto said the company has shown itself to be a corporate "backbone" to the area, particularly after the exodus of other major economic centers lost during the passed half-decade.
"Modern is a great corporation for Lewiston and proven themselves as a great corporation," Ceretto said. "I'd certainly like to help in any way I could."
Supervisor Dennis Brochey indicated Modern has been in contact with Lewiston government concerning a $250,000 downtick in its annual payout to the town, but he too expressed confidence in the company's staying power, including tentative discussions of facility expansion.
"I have confidence in Gary (Smith) and Modern," Brochey said. "I'm sure they've had business issues in the past, so I'm sure they know how to handle this."
Smith said, in the near term, his company will back off the medical marijuana business to observe how the current laws evolve. He characterized the Compassionate Care Act as "draconian" in its regulations, and said under such pressure his company ran a chance of "winning and losing" by securing a state license.
"It could have been a bad investment," Smith said. "We were willing to take that risk, and we are interested to see how it plays out."
Smith also cited problems in other states medical marijuana roll-outs, noting delays in distribution and overestimated patient registries. In Western New York, too, Smith sees room for improvement.
"In eight counties across Western New York, there are only two dispensaries and they're both in Amherst," Smith said. "How does someone in Chautauqua County even consider accessing their needs?"
Smith said that such observations give Modern pause when considering a new bid for medical marijuana, but the company will remain open minded as the Compassionate Care Act grows older and is amended.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: H2Gro operators bounce back from failed marijuana bid
Author: Philip Gambini
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: James Neiss
Website: Niagara Gazette
Despite the lost opportunity to cultivate medical marijuana in Lewiston, Gary Smith, COO for Modern Corp., said that he has been in recent contact with produce vendors interested in the company's stock.
Modern Corp., in April, made public the specifics of its medical marijuana bid and touted a nearly $1 million investment, including a baseline $250,000 application fee for one of the state Department of Health's five medical licenses. With a failure in the first round, Smith said his company will be quick to bounce back.
"To be honest, the investors took the great risk, but the company didn't have its own money in there," he said.
Previously, Smith and company has farmed out its organic tomato crops to local supermarkets in the cities of Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and has even sent crops as far as Whole Foods facilities in New York City.
Smith said all previous vendors are in mind, with the plan to increase production to potentially include cucumber, eggplant, specialty tomatoes and another green intoxicant – hops.
"There isn't really time to switch to another crop this season," Smith said. "We're looking at a longer term for other crops with a minimum for next season."
In the meantime, Smith said, his company is looking to streamline its current production methods and expand its marketing outreach.
"We have meetings with different vendors that might put us in a different direction with what we're growing and how we're growing it," Smith said.
The company's license bid was complicated when a May warrant was served to their acting lobbyist, G. Steve Pigeon. According to records available through the Join Commission on Public Ethics, Pigeon ranked among the top paid representatives pushing for a medical marijuana license in New York.
Pigeon formerly served under a $25,000 per month contract until FBI and New York State Police personnel carried boxes of computers and files from his Buffalo home.
"We'll never know what kind of impact that had," Smith said. "But it sure didn't help when someone gets raided by the FBI the week before your application went in."
The medical marijuana opportunity was championed by local lawmakers as a significant economic opportunity for the area. Previously, Lewiston's Democratic Assemblyman John Ceretto supported Modern's effort and praised the possible specialized jobs that could be brought in by the bid.
On Saturday, Ceretto said the company has shown itself to be a corporate "backbone" to the area, particularly after the exodus of other major economic centers lost during the passed half-decade.
"Modern is a great corporation for Lewiston and proven themselves as a great corporation," Ceretto said. "I'd certainly like to help in any way I could."
Supervisor Dennis Brochey indicated Modern has been in contact with Lewiston government concerning a $250,000 downtick in its annual payout to the town, but he too expressed confidence in the company's staying power, including tentative discussions of facility expansion.
"I have confidence in Gary (Smith) and Modern," Brochey said. "I'm sure they've had business issues in the past, so I'm sure they know how to handle this."
Smith said, in the near term, his company will back off the medical marijuana business to observe how the current laws evolve. He characterized the Compassionate Care Act as "draconian" in its regulations, and said under such pressure his company ran a chance of "winning and losing" by securing a state license.
"It could have been a bad investment," Smith said. "We were willing to take that risk, and we are interested to see how it plays out."
Smith also cited problems in other states medical marijuana roll-outs, noting delays in distribution and overestimated patient registries. In Western New York, too, Smith sees room for improvement.
"In eight counties across Western New York, there are only two dispensaries and they're both in Amherst," Smith said. "How does someone in Chautauqua County even consider accessing their needs?"
Smith said that such observations give Modern pause when considering a new bid for medical marijuana, but the company will remain open minded as the Compassionate Care Act grows older and is amended.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: H2Gro operators bounce back from failed marijuana bid
Author: Philip Gambini
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: James Neiss
Website: Niagara Gazette
