ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - A Canadian cannabis company could be bringing hundreds of jobs to the Southern Tier.
The company is Canopy Growth;that’s the business that locally-based Constellation Brands has taken a major stake in.
On Monday, Canopy Growth announced it has been granted a license by New York State to process and produce hemp, and it plans to establish a hemp industrial park somewhere in the Southern Tier.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer says this project has the potential to bring in hundreds of good-paying jobs.
He notes that industrial hemp that can be used for a variety of applications including food, oil and cosmetic products.
The senator says that hemp contains a very small amount of ‘THC,’ which is the psychoactive substance that provides a marijuana high. Schumer says legislation signed last year lifts a federal impediment to making a cash crop out of industrial hemp.
Canopy Growth says it will have an investment of $100 million to $150 million in the Southern Tier, capable of producing tons of hemp extract on an annual basis.
The company says it’s evaluating a number of sites in the Southern Tier and it hopes to announce a specific location within 100 days.