A 10,000 square foot grow room of the Jean Guy strand at Tiverton's 7ACRES grow facility. Photo submitted

Hub Staff

Less than two weeks into July and the marijuana facility 7ACRES has had three major announcements with a few more expected ahead of the highly anticipated Canada wide legalization of recreational pot October 17.

In addition to Health Canada’s approval for an expansion of 30,000 square feet of flowering rooms, the Tiverton facility recently announced supply deals with the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta.

A subsidiary of Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc., 7ACRES will supply Manitoba with 1,690 kilograms of product and in addition will supply Alberta’s private cannabis retailers and online consumer portals through the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC).

“We’re switching focus from medical to recreational at our facility,” said General Manager Ram Davloor, adding that it’s a far bigger market. “We have the production capacity to support it,” he said.

7ACRES currently cultivates four hybrid strains including White Widow, Woppa and Sensi Star with their most popular being Jean Guy. Davoor said the hybrids contain elements of Sativa and Indica and consumers receive the “best benefits” of both while some strains have more CBD content over THC.

“As a company we’re not going to totally forget about the medical market, we’re going to create a medical division, but there will be other facilities and other products that will supply that division under the [Supreme Pharmaceutal] umbrella,” said Davoor.

The budding business currently employs approximately 180 people and is set to expand to 400 staff members by the end of 2018. The recent 30,000 square foot expansion approval will see 7ACRES produce 10,000 kilograms of pot, doubling their capacity from their current 5,000 kilograms. Another large expansion project is projected to see the facility produce 50,000 kilograms by the end of 2019.

During a July 10 interview, Supreme Pharmaceuticals CEO John Fowler said they intend to make what is grown at 7ACRES a national product and said that when they started in 2014 they had a view of becoming a low cost supplier, identifying two years ago a great opportunity for growth. Fowler said they have an innovative facility for maximizing those characteristics and “we have the infrastructure to grow a great product,” he said.

“But I think, most importantly, we have the management systems and corporate culture to allow us to produce that level of quality,” said Fowler.

With provinces across Canada seeking 7ACRES products Fowler said he believes 7ACRES is a leading brand for premium cannabis flower. “The data shows that the cannabis flower is the biggest single segment of the legal cannabis industry and that data also supports that quality really matters to Canadian cannabis consumers,” he said, adding that they use proprietary genetics to maximize consumer enjoyment, visual appeal and flavour.

Fowler added that Supreme Pharmaceuticals has recently made a strategic investment in Medigrow, southern Africa’s Kingdom of Lesotho “to give access to what we believe to be an international medical strategy” and secure distribution into the jurisdictions of the European Union.

Supreme Pharmaceuticals CEO John Fowler tending to the Jean Guy strand. Photo submitted