File photo of marijuana buds courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / kirillvasilevcomFile photo of marijuana buds courtesy of © Can Stock Photo / kirillvasilevcom
Windsor

Leamington cannabis grower PharmHouse has Health Canada license to grow

The cannabis business is getting much bigger in Leamington, now that Canopy Rivers and its joint venture partners have Health Canada's blessing to grow medicinal pot at their PharmHouse facility.

Canopy Rivers made the announcement Monday in a statement.

It said PharmHouse on Highway 77 would be "immediately commencing operations in its 190,000 sq. ft. licensed nursery infrastructure and plans to ramp up the entire 1.3-million sq. ft. ultramodern greenhouse before the end of 2019."

In May, the company held a job fair at the Lebanese Club in Leamington. It said it was hiring 70 workers in a variety of positions including general labourer, supervisor, and maintenance.

"Together with the expertise of agriculture industry titan Paul Mastronardi, along with our team of ag-specialist joint venture partners, Canopy Rivers has helped finance, construct, and prepare for licensing one of the largest, state-of-the-art cannabis facilities in the world," said President and CEO of Canopy Rivers, Narbe Alexandrian.

In the statement, Alexandrian is quoted as saying the facility already has multi-year contracts with "internationally-focused leaders."

"This license is a monumental achievement for PharmHouse, a joint venture that I believe represents the future of cannabis production," said Paul Mastronardi, the CEO of Mastronardi Produce Limited said of the facilities plan to use a high degree of automation.

Mastronardi is also the largest individual shareholder in the PharmHouse venture.

Read More Local Stories

New military crosswalk rendering. (Image courtesy of the Sarnia Legion Branch 62)

New military crosswalk in Sarnia to be unveiled

As part of a partnership between the Sarnia Legion Branch 62 and City of Sarnia, an unveiling ceremony will be held at the corner of Christina Street and Wellington Street on Sunday, June 7, at 2 p.m.

Members of the Sarnia Police Service entering a Tashmoo Avenue residence on June 4, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Sarnia Police Service)

Two men arrested in Tashmoo Ave. standoff

Sarnia police said the investigation began on May 29 after the victim was allegedly attacked by acquaintances at a residence near Tashmoo Avenue and Christopher Drive at Aamjiwnaang First Nation.