Cannabis the first viable crop in years - greenhouse owner

Tuesday 12 March 2019

Plans to cultivate cannabis in Guernsey have given vinery owners a 'new incentive' to upgrade and refurbish redundant glass for a commercially-viable venture.

The House of Green Ltd is in the early stages of establishing a locally-based cannabis business, which, if successful, will have a cooperative model for local growers and one centralised extraction facility.

Nick Russell, who owns the Turfing Nursery/former Ramee Roses site, is one of the vinery owners on board with the idea.

"The main thing is that this is a viable crop - the first that has been viable to grow since the demise of flowers, tomatoes and carnations," he said.

"I don’t think we will be ready this year, but we are aiming realistically to be ready to start growing next year. I really hope that the authorities get our license and that we can get the permissions we need for the [security] fencing.

"We have 1.8 acres of glass, which is pretty much there, and access to another 1.8 acres that does need renovating first."

His functional glass is currently being used to grow wild flower turf for his landscaping business, while the other greenhouse is overgrown inside. Without this hemp growing opportunity, he said it 'would have continued falling into disrepair'.

Billy and Nick Russell were among those that Deputy Marc Leadbeater, House of Green CEO Paul Smith and US cannabis expert Gary Tucker met up with this week.

Mr Tucker designed and built the largest extraction centre in the US and has developed a number of patents for producing top quality CBD oils and distillates. He will soon be relocating to Guernsey to set up the operation with the intention of training local people to take over the future management of the business.

"All the research and all the papers indicate that [the industry] is getting bigger, a lot of countries are opening up to the medical aspect and trying to put in some regulations, so it is getting bigger and bigger and at a very quick rate," he said. 

"It is the right time to do this in Guernsey, because Europe is not open to it yet but will be soon and when they are they will still need all of the infrastructure.

"There are definitely a lot of areas that haven’t been fully developed in the UK or European markets. It is still in its infancy but I think a lot of the stuff we do here will help open up the rest of the market."

He said the main thing he can advise growers on is getting through the license process, which he said in his experience can take some time.

Mr Tucker believes that patience will pay off and that the 'clinical and medical side of the market is going to be huge'. 

"We are really trying to push out into medical research. Already we have been reaching out to a lot of doctors and talking about putting the ingredients in their hands so they can make medicinal products. 

"Every plant will have different amounts [of THC] so we need consistent processes so we can get the consistent outcomes needed to make medicinal products."

In addition to medical research, the group has negotiated agreements to provide CBD distillates to a number of companies producing a range of products including; health supplements, flavored alkaline water infused with CBD, vape cartridges and animal supplements targeted particularly at the equine community.

Deputy Marc Leadbeater, who was coordinating the visits, said they presented opportunities for interested growers to meet the team. 

"The intention of this is for growers like Nick to meet Paul and Gary and bounce some questions off them, as to this point most of them have only been in contact with me." 

And with around 25 acres of glass between those vinery owners who want to be in the cooperative, Mr Smith said those people would be at the heart of the business.

"This is a Guernsey company with Guernsey people involved in it and it will be driven by local values. We want to set Guernsey up as a centre of excellence in Europe."

Pictured top: Deputy Marc Leadbeater, Nick Russell, Billy Russell, Paul Smith and Gary Tucker at Turfing Nursery.