Ticking timeline

AGRiMED Industries of Pa. LLC was granted one of 12 permits Tuesday by the state Department of Health to grow and process medical marijuana under the state’s new medical marijuana program, and the Philadelphia company, which plans to invest $25 million to develop its growing operation near Nemacolin, now has six months to get the project up and running.
“We’re going to have to work our tails off, but we’re going to do it,” said Bruce Goldman, chairman of the board for AGRiMED.
The company plans to construct an 80,000-square-foot building on a 61-acre site off Thomas Road in Cumberland Township to house its growing and processing operations.
“We’re very happy (to have received the permit), though honored is a more appropriate term, because we’re in this to make medicine,” Goldman said.
Pharmaceutical medicines produced from marijuana grown and processed at the site will be beneficial to the health and wellness of those who need it, said Goldman, who has more than 30 years of experience as a health-care administrator.
Having investigated the benefits of medical cannabis and taken into account the requirements of the state program that, among other things, does not allow the marijuna to be sold in a form that can be smoked, he said, “I’m convinced this is the right thing to do.”
Considering 177 applications were submitted to the state for the 12 permits, AGRiMED faced tough competition.
Its score ranked among the highest in the state Health Department’s evaluation, Goldman said, noting the company did extremely well in all “technical” areas, including its plans for growing the marijuana and extracting the medicinal components.
The growing and processing operation is expected to employ 62 workers, though a company official earlier said the number of workers could gradually increase as the program ramps up.
Goldman is one the founding partners of AGRiMED. The three other founding partners, he said, are Sterling Crockett, an entrepreneur and managing partner; and Stanley Sears and William Derby, both principals of Wellington Development.
The growing operations will be constructed on property owned by Greene Energy Resources, a Wellington Development affiliate.
Under the state’s medical marijuana program, cannabis can be prescribed for 17 medical conditions.
Medical cannabis can be dispensed as pills, oils, liquids, topical ointments or in a form administered by an inhaler or nebulizer.
Pennsylvania law allows grower-processor facilities to distribute products only to other dispensaries and facilities. They cannot sell directly to patients. AGRiMED also is seeking a permit to open a dispensery in Greene County.
Goldman said he expects the company will conduct an outreach program, possibly a town hall meeting, to make the community more familiar with its operations.
Several local officials said the project would be good for the county.
“We’re good with it,” said Cumberland Township Supervisor Jim Sokol. “I think it will be good for the job opportunities and for the tax base.”
The company, in a presentation to the township in March, was able to assure the supervisors the facility would be secure, Sokol said.
“They had everything very well thought out,” he said. “We were very impressed with them.”
Sokol said the supervisors were surprised AGRiMED received one of the 12 permits, considering the number of companies that had applied for them.
Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said that though the township had been the main contact for the company in regard to the project, company officials later met with the commissioners to discuss it.
“We’re excited about the job potential,” Zimmerman said.
“Our concern was security,” he said. However, former state police Lt. Col. Hawthorne Conley, the company’s security director, was able to address that issue, Zimmerman said.
“He had said, ‘Believe me, it will be secure … like Fort Knox,'” Zimmerman said. “It eased our minds when they assured us it would be a very secure facility.”
Before the company can move ahead with construction, it will have to receive plan approval from Cumberland Township.
Plans will have to be presented for approval under the township’s subdivision and development ordinance, said Ann Bargerstock, township code officer.
“They will have to follow the normal process for any land development, the same as any other commercial development,” she said. Zoning is not expected to be an issue, Bargerstock said. The land is zoned for agricultural uses, and AGRiMED is proposing an “agriculture enterprise,” she said.
The property on which the marijuana-growing operation will be constructed also could possibly be shared with a new power plant.
Last year, Hill Top Energy Center LLC, based in Huntington Bay, N.Y., proposed building a 536-megawatt natural gas plant on part of the site.
The company is currently seeking permits for the project from the state.
AGRiMED is expected to use about 61 acres of the site for its growing operations, and Hill Top would use the remaining 41 acres.
Several years ago, Wellington Development, the owner of the property, had proposed constructing a coal-waste burning power plant at the site; however, that project eventually was shelved.