Mainebiz

A s the legal jangling over Maine's new law allowing retail sales of marijuana con- tinues, and would-be growers snap up commercial real estate around the state, the potentially new business brings with it high startup and ongoing costs. Take it from Patricia Rosi, CEO of Wellness Connection of Maine, which has been growing and dispens- ing medical cannabis for half a dozen years. Medical and recreational mari- juana is expected to be at least a $20 billion industry nationwide by 2020. In Maine, Rosi estimates it could generate $200 million to $250 million in sales. By comparison, the state's lobster catch was valued at $495 million in 2015. Rosi says her company plans to get into the recreational business when the time is right because it already has the infra- structure and investments. Cannabis is the scientifi c name for the plant and its products, whereas marijuana, pot and weed are generic words. But buyer beware is her recom- mendation to newcomers wishing to get into the recreational business. "People shouldn't go beyond pay- ing for a warehouse now," she advises, because of the moratoria in some towns and the clarity that's still needed in the law and how it is implemented. VO L . X X I I I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 6 , 2 0 1 7 16 G R E AT E R P O R T L A N D P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Patricia Rosi, CEO of Wellness Connection of Maine, surrounded by marijuana plants in the drying room at Wellness Connection of Maine. ' cannabiz ' GROWING A IN MAINE en there's the cost to get a build- ing set up to grow cannabis. "To build this site cost more than $3 million," she says, adding that came from private investors, as it's diffi cult for banks and other investors to put up funds con- sidering incompatible federal laws that still render marijuana sales illegal. Rosi invited Mainebiz to tour the facility, the fi rst time in fi ve years a reporter and a photographer got such extensive access. For security reasons, she would only say it is in Lewiston/Auburn. WCM has more than 40,000 square feet of production space, which gives it plenty of room to grow. "One of the biggest expenses after labor is electricity, which is $50,000 per month." at's $600,000 per year that goes to grow lights, HVAC and equipment. WCM's 2016 sales were about $15 million, but sales have declined since the recreational marijuana referendum passed. Rosi hopes the company can stay at the $15 million level for this year. In addition to the factory and a kitchen in Gardiner, WCM owns four of the eight regulated medical marijuana Wellness Connection of Maine: sowing a successful business brings mind-altering costs B y L o r i V a l i g r a

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