Knox Medical has applied to the state for a level 1 cultivation facility on the property known as Siebenthaler’s Beavercreek Garden Center on Beaver Valley Road.
The state has released the list of approved licenses for the Level II cultivators, which are the smaller of the two approved types of licenses. The list of those approved for the larger Level I applications is expected to be released this month.
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They are proposing to build a $7 to $8 million medical marijuana cultivation facility on the 10-acre property, according to Ed Amrhein, zoning administrator for the township.
“These operations will be subject to some of the most stringent state licensure, and expensive I might add, and inspection requirements of any industry in the state,” Amrhein said. “At least on paper, the state is answering any questions we might have had in terms of doubts in allowing such a use in our jurisdiction.”
Credit: Beavercreek Twp.
Credit: Beavercreek Twp.
If Knox Medical’s license application is approved, they will be the only cultivation and processing facility in the township, as trustees have approved no more than one such facility to be built, Amrhein said.
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“The product emanating from these operations is not going to be the kind of product that’s typically desirable in an open, illicit drug market.
“None of the products from any of these operations in Ohio is going to be smoked. It will all be either consumed orally or released as recipe ingredients in the form of oils or flower … we’re not talking about truckloads of dried leaves being shipped in and out of any facilities here.”
Credit: Beavercreek Twp.
Credit: Beavercreek Twp.
Greene County Sheriff Eugene Fischer spoke in favor of Knox Medical’s plans at the township trustees meeting in June, when trustees approved the cultivation and processing of medical marijuana.
The township zoning board last month amended the township’s zoning code to reflect the trustees’ decision.
Fischer said he is familiar with the company’s security chief, who he said is a former commander for the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
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Fischer said cameras will be recording the movements of those who work around the plants. Workers cannot wear clothing with pockets and the plants are frequently weighed as part of regulating the operation, he said.
Fischer reassured the trustees that the form of the drug that will be produced is not the kind you smoke.
“The way I understand it, the cost is going to be prohibitive for the regular person that’s going to be smoking a joint on the corner,” he said.
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