New York: Medical Marijuana Entrepreneur Wants To Grow Pot At Seneca Army Depot

Jacob Redmond

Well-Known Member
Town officials here are backing a proposal by a well-known medical marijuana entrepreneur to grow pot at the former Seneca Army Depot midway between Syracuse and Rochester.

Josh Stanley, who helped develop a strain of medical marijuana known as "Charlotte's Web" used to treat epileptic children, wants to build a greenhouse to grow marijuana on a 20-acre site within the 11,000-acre former Army base that closed in 2000.

Stanley told town officials at a meeting Wednesday the project would initially create 20 jobs and eventually 250.

"After the Army left, it left a big hole in our economy," said David M. Kaiser, Romulus town supervisor. "We are really excited about this because we need living wage jobs. A lot of families here are struggling."

Stanley's company, Citiva Medical, intends to apply for one of five licenses the state will grant to medical marijuana growers. The state is expected to begin accepting applications soon. Many parties are expected to apply.

Stanley has worked on legislation to legalize medical marijuana in seven states. He and his brothers appeared on National Geographic's 2012 television series "American Weed."

Stanley started his career in Colorado developing strains of marijuana high in the component cannabidiol and low in tetrahydrocannabidiol or THC, the component that gets users intoxicated.

Kaiser said the town board was impressed with Stanley's presentation.

"It's not a backdoor to recreational use," Kaiser said. "There will be stringent security and a perimeter fence."

Citiva plans to build a sophisticated, climate-controlled greenhouse, Kaiser said.

Company officials did not provide any estimates of what the project will cost.

The Seneca Army Depot site is one of several around the state Citiva is considering.

The depot traces its history to 1941. The U.S. Army seized nearly 11,000 acres of farmland and relocated more than 100 families to build a base that stored explosives used in World War II and eventually nuclear weapons.

The location Citiva is looking at is part of an 1,100-acre site within the depot owned by Flaum Management of Rochester and occupied by several other businesses.

Most of the rest of the depot land is owned by the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency.

Medical marijuana is expected to become available in New York next year. The state's medical marijuana regulations are very stringent.

The state will only allow medical marijuana use to treat these conditions: cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disorder, neuropathies and Huntington's disease.

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Full Article: Medical marijuana entrepreneur wants to grow pot at Seneca Army Depot | syracuse.com
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