Weedon, Quebec, a municipality with a population of about 2,800, is about to get 1.5 million-square-feet of cannabis-filled greenhouses and a massive cannabis-themed interpretation centre. Yep – this little township just north of us is gearing up for some huge, huge changes that could impact our whole country.

The CannaCentre, as this multi-purpose facility will be called, will be the product of a partnership between MYM Nutraceuticals Inc., a medical marijuana producer, and The Sherbrooke Historical Society – so, dedicated to bringing cannabis to the public for our health and for fun.

Specifically, the CannaCentre will serve the public with a zero-carbon footprint cannabis museum, as well as an education centre with an auditorium, a lab, a testing facility and a 22-apartment health-care clinic for treatments. It’ll also partner with universities to do work in botany, offering degrees and certification programs having to do with cannabis and operations from growing to selling.  

MYM Nutraceuticals Inc. says: “the plan will make Weedon the cannabis capital of Canada,” and judging by the sound of the plan, it looks like it could totally be. Aside from the fact that the institution is estimated to generate about $3 billion for Canada in 15 years, and be able to produce 150,000 kgs of medical cannabis, the CannaCentre will be QUITE the game-changer for the industry, for a few reasons.

For one, it will of course make medical cannabis – and cannabis education and entertainment, more accessible and acceptable. It’ll also create what’s looking like an estimated 400 jobs with a whole new batch of areas of specialization, which is exciting. More broadly, though – and what’s really promising about this mega-project, is that the CannaCentre could allow us to make leaps and bounds in how we include cannabis in our cultural narrative. 

BUT: The CannaCentre must be socially responsible about it.

A project of this size must acknowledge its role in bringing back into balance the disparities that have kept cannabis inaccessible for so many of us – and / or dangerous for so many of us, for so long. If the CannaCentre wants to merge medical cannabis production, tourism and education, it has to make inclusivity a big part of the mission. If not, the mission. It’s high time we decide how we want to make cannabis a part of our history here in Canada, and high time we include all voices. 

What the Sherbrooke Historical Society and MYM Nutraceuticals have is an opportunity to combine their powers and set an example of what it looks like to be really hold space as a big, proud, public, inclusive cannabis facility with benefits for our community and our culture, and yes, the economy, so here’s hoping the CannaCentre can be a mega-force for good.

Of course, as of yet, the plot of land in Weedon that’ll house the CannaCentre is still a gravel pit, BUT: If the prospected $200 million plan actually pans out to be anything as significant as it sounds, well, we’ll definitely be buying a train ticket to Quebec to check it out. It’s set to start taking shape in early 2019. Would you check it out?