NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A struggling city in eastern Pennsylvania was chosen to be the home of one of the state’s first 12 marijuana growing/processing plants, due in part to its status as a distressed city.
New Castle’s many economic challenges weighed in the community’s favor when the Pennsylvania Department of Health made its final decisions on Tuesday, said Keith Morgan of Holistic Farms, the company that will operate the facility.
“We selected New Castle for a reason,” Morgan said about the proposal he submitted to the state. “It is an Act 47 city. They may not be proud of that designation, but New Castle is in economic need. In this instance, that worked for us, it worked for the city.”
New Castle ranked seven out of the 12, with 741.68 points, Morgan said.
Anthony Mastrangelo, New Castle Mayor, said the decision will be beneficial to the community.
“It’s fantastic that we were selected,” Mastrangelo said. “This time our financially distressed condition worked for us.”
Morgan said Wednesday that his New Castle facility, which does not include a dispensary, will be up and running within six months of June 20, the day the permit was issued.
An estimated 100 to 150 employees will be hired over a three- to five-year period, according to Morgan.
“We’ll grow as the market grows,” he said.
Linda Nitch, director of economic business development of the Lawrence County Regional Chamber of Commerce, was thrilled to learn New Castle had been selected as a grower/processor site.
“I hope this is just the start of good things happening in the area,” she said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Industrial multiplier, she said one new job will result in 1.45 additional service, retail and/or maintenance jobs.
“These 100 jobs could result in another 100 jobs for the area,” Nitch said. “In addition, they will be renovating the building, which will raise its assessed value and the city will get additional wage taxes.”
He said preparing the building will be a “sizable investment” in the community, but said he could not estimate what will be spent at this time.
The product they anticipate growing would be for medical uses such as the treatment of epilepsy, some cancers, glaucoma, other medical conditions and pain control, Morgan said. The end product will contain CDD, the part of cannabis known to have medical benefits. It would not have THC, the ingredient that enables people to get high on cannabis.
Pennsylvania law that legalized marijuana for medical purposes and pain control was approved by the legislature in April 2016 and signed by gov. Tom Wolf in December 2016. Under the law, cannabis would be supplied to seriously ill patients suffering from one of 17 ailments. The law also prohibits the substance from being made available in a dry leaf or a plant form but only as a pill, gel, vapor or liquid.
“Pennsylvania is a nonsmoking, nonedible state,” Morgan said. “Most of the product will be used for pain management that has no intoxicating effect.”
credit:thelandonline.com
