Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A medical marijuana program could be coming to Schenectady County Community College this fall.
Fiorello Pharmaceuticals has pledged to provide $100,000 to SCCC if it is one of five contractors chosen by the state Health Department to provide marijuana to patients suffering from certain medical conditions.
The New York City-based company would open a facility in Glenville if it gets a license and is looking to launch a medical cannabis certificate program in Schenectady – the first in the nation, according to Fiorello – as part of a job-training partnership with the two-year college. The college may also help train developmentally disabled people to work at the facility.
"We will need to fill a large number of jobs in our planned Glenville cultivation and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and this partnership will help ensure that Capital Region residents have access to best-in-class scientific and technology training to secure those positions," said Fiorello CEO Ari Hoffnung.
Fiorello is proposing to operate the $10 million medical marijuana research and production facility at a 120,000-square-foot building in the Glenville Business and Technology Park and hire a workforce of over 100 to run it.
The medical marijuana produced there would be used as medicine for patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy and other diseases. The company also plans to open dispensaries in Syracuse, Rochester, Yonkers and Long Island.
SCCC's noncredit workforce development division would spearhead the program to offer students coursework in hydroponic growing methods, agricultural best practices and facility management.
"Our community college is uniquely positioned – both geographically and from a workforce development perspective – to help build a trained workforce for this new field," said Matt Grattan, executive director of workforce development at SCCC.
The goal is to kick off the new program for the upcoming fall semester. SCCC is urging people who are interested in the potential opportunity to contact the college's admissions department.
SCCC President Steady Moono said he believes the program has the potential to help the college expand, much like the recently launched Casino and Gaming Management program.
In addition to the certificate program, SCCC would also develop training courses with Schenectady ARC and the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region for people with developmental disabilities.
"Fiorello's proposal . . . is a tremendous opportunity to train workers and offer employment opportunities for a group of workers who, historically, have had very high unemployment," said Kirk Lewis, executive director of Schenectady ARC.
Fiorello is one of 43 applicants for medical marijuana licenses. Other Capital Region proposals offered by those applicants include a Clifton Park dispensary, a Fulton County manufacturing facility, and a dispensary at a former bank on Van Vranken Avenue in Schenectady.
Hoffnung said the company is looking to deliver medicine to patients within six months of receiving a license. Fiorello estimates the annual tax revenue to Schenectady County by 2020 would be more than $1.5 million a year.
Fiorello previously announced $1 million to institutions in the Capital Region as part of a $5 million research grant over five years to leading academic and research centers in the state.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SCCC may offer program in marijuana growing
Author: Haley Viccaro
Contact: Staff List
Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe — Star Tribune
Website: The Daily Gazette - Schenectady, NY
Fiorello Pharmaceuticals has pledged to provide $100,000 to SCCC if it is one of five contractors chosen by the state Health Department to provide marijuana to patients suffering from certain medical conditions.
The New York City-based company would open a facility in Glenville if it gets a license and is looking to launch a medical cannabis certificate program in Schenectady – the first in the nation, according to Fiorello – as part of a job-training partnership with the two-year college. The college may also help train developmentally disabled people to work at the facility.
"We will need to fill a large number of jobs in our planned Glenville cultivation and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and this partnership will help ensure that Capital Region residents have access to best-in-class scientific and technology training to secure those positions," said Fiorello CEO Ari Hoffnung.
Fiorello is proposing to operate the $10 million medical marijuana research and production facility at a 120,000-square-foot building in the Glenville Business and Technology Park and hire a workforce of over 100 to run it.
The medical marijuana produced there would be used as medicine for patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy and other diseases. The company also plans to open dispensaries in Syracuse, Rochester, Yonkers and Long Island.
SCCC's noncredit workforce development division would spearhead the program to offer students coursework in hydroponic growing methods, agricultural best practices and facility management.
"Our community college is uniquely positioned – both geographically and from a workforce development perspective – to help build a trained workforce for this new field," said Matt Grattan, executive director of workforce development at SCCC.
The goal is to kick off the new program for the upcoming fall semester. SCCC is urging people who are interested in the potential opportunity to contact the college's admissions department.
SCCC President Steady Moono said he believes the program has the potential to help the college expand, much like the recently launched Casino and Gaming Management program.
In addition to the certificate program, SCCC would also develop training courses with Schenectady ARC and the Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region for people with developmental disabilities.
"Fiorello's proposal . . . is a tremendous opportunity to train workers and offer employment opportunities for a group of workers who, historically, have had very high unemployment," said Kirk Lewis, executive director of Schenectady ARC.
Fiorello is one of 43 applicants for medical marijuana licenses. Other Capital Region proposals offered by those applicants include a Clifton Park dispensary, a Fulton County manufacturing facility, and a dispensary at a former bank on Van Vranken Avenue in Schenectady.
Hoffnung said the company is looking to deliver medicine to patients within six months of receiving a license. Fiorello estimates the annual tax revenue to Schenectady County by 2020 would be more than $1.5 million a year.
Fiorello previously announced $1 million to institutions in the Capital Region as part of a $5 million research grant over five years to leading academic and research centers in the state.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SCCC may offer program in marijuana growing
Author: Haley Viccaro
Contact: Staff List
Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe — Star Tribune
Website: The Daily Gazette - Schenectady, NY
