MARIJUANA FACTORY OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Pot processed into potent THC pellets to be used for medicinal use

Few marijuana-growing operations in B.C. offer media tours.

But the people behind the Marijuana Factory, which officially opened Monday
on a quiet New Westminster street, say they are doing nothing wrong growing
marijuana and processing it into potent pot pellets.

Up to 110 plants will be grown by three users licensed by Health Canada to
possess and produce the drug for medical purposes.

Ottawa amended federal drug laws last summer to allow a limited number of
patients to obtain a special exemption that allows them to possess marijuana
for their personal use. So far, 817 Canadians are licensed to possess
marijuana; another 214 are licensed to produce marijuana for medical use and
17 have been designated growers for others.

At the house, the drug is processed into highly potent pellets of
concentrated THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in
marijuana. These THC balls easily dissolve in oil or butter and can be used
to make cookies, cakes or even tea.

Mark and others at the Marijuana Factory say they will look into donating
any excess pot to agencies and physicians with patients who might benefit
from medical marijuana.

"We have some contacts with doctors from different agencies that have
expressed interest in cannabis for their patients," said Michael Maniotis,
director of the Merlin Project, which is organizing the Marijuana Factory.
"What we've said to them is once we've completed the crop, whatever excess
is available we'll find a way ... to make it available to them."

But the amount that can be grown is determined by a doctor and specified in
the licence, as is the location where the marijuana will be grown, according
to a spokesman for Health Canada.

Up to three people can grow marijuana in one location, but that location
must be specified in the licence, said Andrew Swift.

"Their licence has to indicate where they are growing it or it is not
entirely correct," Swift said.

Members of the Merlin Project would like to have seven such "factories" in
the Vancouver area.

Inside the house, bright hydroponic lights reflect off the silver metallic
insulation taped over the walls to keep it warm. So far just two mother
plants sit in an upstairs room and a few fledgling pot plants and some
lettuce decorate a hydroponic system under a bright light in the basement.

The system will produce high-grade pot efficiently and effectively, said
Maniotis, who smokes pot to relieve arthritis pain and stress. He's not
worried that police will show up at the front door.

"They wouldn't have any justification for coming here," Maniotis said.