EPISODE 796 NOT JUST MEDICAL MARIJUANA…WHERE ARE THE TULIPS?”
alan skeoch
APRIL 15, 2023
“ALAN, I want you to help me find a tulip farm…somewhere south west of Hamilton.”
“I don’t want to find a tulip farm, Marjorie…do not give a sweet goddamn about tulips.”
“I am the gardening convenor for our retired reachers…just want to scout out tulips
and need your help.”
“Beautiful spring day…better things to do.”
“
ALAN, I Need your help as navigator…not asking much.”
So we took Highway 20, southwest from Binbrook. And a weird thing happened.
NO TULIPS….WASTE OF OUR TIME
“Marjorie there are no tulips in this village of Fenwick…”
“Let’s just ask someone…”
“Tulip farm? Well, someone grows tulips way back in that field…hardly a tulip farm.”
“wasted the whole day in a god forsaken trip to nowhere.”
“Tulips are not up yet..too early.”
Then a very strange thing happened as often occurs on our pointless kinds of trips.
“Marjorie, there is something odd about this huge greenhouse complex.”
“Odd?”
“Yes, why does a greenhouse need 8 foot chain link fencing…brand new fencing…no sign of any pansy plants.”
“Odd?”
“And why are there cameras at every building. No one ever steels pansies or tulip bulbs. This is a strange place.”
“And look at the signage…All visitors must sign in at the gatekeepers office.”
“Why would we have to sign in just to buy a geranium or box of pansies?”
STOP — PLEASE SIGN IN WITH SECURITY
“Why would we need security clearance to buy pansies, geraniums or sheep manure.”
“This is a strange place.”
“And why is no one here…empty picnic tables….locked security gate.”
“And a small sign that says “no jewelry on the premises”
“That’s weird….do the owners expect criminals?”
“Seems so.”
“And why all those security cameras”
So we asked a lady walking by.
“Our village, FENWICK, became famous in a way. few years ago a bunch of investors
built this place”
“Why?””
“Cannabis became legal….medical maijuana. Suddenly Fenwick had a big industry where
285 people were employed.”
“I remember that. Pot became legal under government controls.”
“A lot of people thought they could get rich. Heard that billons were poured into
places like this one in Fenwick.”
“If Cannabis is legal, why is this huge place closed?”
That question had a simple answer.Appparently a disgruntled employee became a whistle blower. The Fenwick greenhouses were not just
producing medical marijuana. Government inspectors raided the place and found undeclared marijuana hidden away … to be sold to
illegal dope pedlars. The Fenwick greenhouses have been locked ever since. ( A surprise inspection by federal regulators in June 2019 uncovered 5,200 kilograms of unlicensed cannabis at the facility.)
Investors in this company saw their share value drop to a fraction of a cent a share. Bankruptcy followed.
“The whole place…acres and acres of top of the line greenhouses and a packaging plant are up for sale. But no buyers.
The Fenwick company…which has several names…has no buyers. Nobody can afford to raise pansies and geraniums on a high
tech place like this. So 285 people are now unemployed and a bunch of investors have had their wealth wiped out.
Apparently this has happened across the province of Ontario where the get rich scheme of producing medical marijuana has turned
from a dream into nightmare.
THE TULIP FARM
What about the tulip farm we were searching for? Directly across the road from the mariguana grow op, there is a broken down
5 ton truck sinking into the mud. And far in the distance behind the truck there is a tulip farm. Closed right now. But a week or
so from now the tulip grower will welcome visitors at $18 a visit. And visitors wil get a few tulip bulbs as an incentive
to pay a visit.
“Marjorie, Is your group of retired teachers still interested?”
“”Probably.”
“Cost us about $80 in gas to get here…a lot of money for nothing.”
“Not for nothing Alan…you discovered a greAt story “
“You mean the Grow Op?
“For sure”
“Reminds me of the great truth in the business world.”
“What?”
“If the investment sounds too good to be true…then it probably is.”
“Do you think all those security cameras recorded our visit?”
“We used their parking lot to turn around.”
“And our white van has no signage.”
POST SCRPT
1) ONE CANNABIS GROWER SAID TO CTV: says he has another three years on his lease. With a rent of $6,000 per month, he admits that “bankruptcy may be the only way to get out of here.” He spent nearly $300,000 on his retail store, with his family lending him the bulk of the money.
“Licensing cost me $10,000 for this location. Then I had all my renovations, that was about $150,000. Then I had rent and operating costs, that’s $60,000. Then I had an inventory of $50,000. So, we’re already at $280,000, and that’s not including payroll for employees and overhead like that,” Kostanyan told CTV National News.
2) Fenwick Grow Op investors in March, 2022, they were issued common shares at a price of approximate $0.009 per share, implying that 10,000 shares had a value of $90.
3) There is some evidence of potential therapeutic uses for cannabis or its component chemicals (cannabinoids) and many Canadians report using cannabis for medical purposes for health problems such as chronic pain, nausea/vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and spasticity with multiple sclerosis. While cannabis can be used by some people for their health problems, determining whether cannabis is appropriate to treat an individual’s symptoms is best made through a discussion with a health care practitioner.
Health Canada has information for health care professionals and for authorized patients on the use of cannabis and cannabinoids for medical purposes. This includes information on potential therapeutic uses, dosing, warnings, and adverse effects. For more
4) Although the exact underlying mechanism is still largely unknown, in some people, cannabis use increases the risk of developing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. This is particularly true for those who:
- start using cannabis at a young age
- use cannabis frequently (daily or almost every day)
- have a personal or family history of schizophrenia
Youth are especially vulnerable to the effects of cannabis, as research shows the brain is not fully developed until around age 25. This is because THC, the substance which gives the “high” in cannabis, affects the same machinery in the brain that directs brain development
You should also be aware that the use of higher potency cannabis products has also been associated with a greater risk of developing schizophrenia. Stopping or reducing cannabis use has been shown to improve outcomes; however, some health effects may not be fully reversible even when cannabis use stops.
