You can grow your own way: St. John's man wants to start marijuana nursery
Thomas Clarke wants to sell plants, operate business similar to brew shops
A St. John's man is hoping to help people grow their own pot plants at home, in the wake of the federal government tabling legislation to legalize marijuana.
The Trudeau government's pot plan would allow people 18 years of age and older to possess up to 30 grams of dried or fresh cannabis, though provinces and territories can set a higher legal age.
Consumers can also grow up to four plants at home or buy from a licensed retailer, which is the part of the law Thomas Clarke wants to embrace as a local industry.
Rather than selling cured marijuana that consumers can smoke, Clarke wants to grow what he calls "mother plants," which could be further cut for customers looking to grow plants of their own.
"There are brewers shops where you can buy your own beer kits to make your own beer at home," he told the St. John's Morning Show.
"Are they going to be prepared to let that happen for marijuana here in the province? I'm not sure."
Clarke said he already has the know-how to grow marijuana, from his days living in Vancouver and a lifetime of "studying" cannabis.
He compared the process to how people purchase cloned tomato plants from vegetable nurseries to grow their own gardens.
He said, in addition to selling the actual plant clones, he would also like to sell all the necessary supplies for people to grow plants in their homes, similar to how wine brewing shops sell equipment to people brewing wine and beer at home.
Home-grown industry
Clarke thinks there's great opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador to take control of marijuana sales before the business becomes centralized by large Canadian corporations.
"We want people to have the option to grow their own here. It will create jobs, it will keep the money here. There are so many positive aspects to the province doing that," he said.
"If you let Shoppers Drug Mart or Newfoundland [and Labrador] Liquor Corporation or one of these large corporations take over the distribution angle of it here, I think that would be missing out on a huge opportunity for the province."
With files from St. John's Morning Show