Desert Hot Springs might just be getting a gigantic marijuana farm later this year. Okay, sure there might already be a few – but this one would be of the legal variety.
CalCann Holdings announced that they plan to build a greenhouse in the city that will grow 6,000 pounds of organic medical cannabis each year, reports The Press Enterprise. The weed grown would then be sold at the company’s Orange County dispensaries.
Desert Hot Springs currently has 5 approved cultivation facilities, with 6 more seeking approval – including this project. The city became the first city in Southern California to regulate and tax commercial medical marijuana cultivation in 2014 – which really is not a terrible idea for a city that desperately needs revenue.
“Desert Hot Springs has become the Silicon Valley of cultivation,” Aaron Herzberg, an attorney and founding partner at CalCann Holdings told the Press Enterprise. “We are excited to be a pioneer in regulated commercial cannabis cultivation in California.”
If their permit is approved, construction should start in September. The company applied for a conditional use permit for the project in late January. If approved, it hopes to start construction in September.
“Desert Hot Springs is clearly setting themselves up to be a leader in cultivation regulation in the state and will be looked at as a model by other jurisdictions contemplating their own regulations,” said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association.
