Leaf Infusions is hoping to make cannabis-infused products in Queensborough.
The company has applied for a zoning amendment bylaw that would allow it to open a manufacturing facility at 1135 Tanaka Crt.
City council has given first and second readings to the bylaw, and will consider the application at a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 25.
A staff report to council states Leaf Infusions would manufacture private-label cannabis products, which would be sold in Canada.
“This includes the infusion of existing food and beverage products with cannabis ingredients, manufacturing and packaging,” said the report. “There would be no cultivation or direct retail sale of cannabis onsite.”
The company would provide products to licensed producers, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch or licensed retailers. It would be required to have a Health Canada processing licence and to comply with Health Canada security and safety provisions.
“It's an odorless environment, as the company is only working with cannabis ingredients such as isolate and essential oils that have no pungent smell,” state Leaf Infusions documents submitted to the city.
A staff report states the facility would be consistent with uses already allowed in light industrial districts, such as food and beverage manufacturing. It would be subject to conditions that are currently in place for cannabis production facilities in the heavy industrial districts.
The 15,269-square-foot (1,419-square-metre) facility would be located in a vacant space at Gifford Street and Tanaka Court. The majority of the 45,530-square-feet (4,230-square-metre) commercial/industrial building is leased to Value Village.
Leaf Infusions currently has facilities in Las Vegas, Nevada and Jackson, Tennessee. Its plan is to manufacture cannabis-infused products such as tinctures, gummies and soft gels at the Queensborough site, which would also be home to the company’s head office.
“Leaf Infusions intends to take the active ingredients of cannabis (THC or CBD distillate or isolate) and infuse it into standard food and/or beverage products,” said company documents submitted to the city as part of its application. “It is important to note that the business’s operation is no different to that of a typical food or beverage manufacturer, only one of our ingredients happens to be cannabis derivatives (oil or isolate powder.)
According to Leaf, Canada’s legal cannabis market is expected to be worth $3.6 billion by the end of 2021, with edibles and alternative cannabis products anticipated to be worth $1.6 billion. The company said cannabis gummies alone are expected to be worth $320 million in the Canadian market by the end of the year.
