A behind-the-scenes look at Huron's marijuana facility

HURON — OPC Cultivation, short for Ohio Patients' Choice, did more than just meet stringent regulations for growing medical marijuana.In fact, its leadership team far exceeded them.Back in November 2017, when OPC received state approval for cultivating cannabis in Huron, executives embarked upon building Ohio's safest and most secure building of its kind.The 55,000-square-foot facility, 30,000 of which for an on-site greenhouse, came at a cost of $20 million, all funded by OPC.Though it's a worthwhile investment, executives contend, resulting in a place producing high-quality products and safeguarding everyone conducting business there."Operating in the medical cannabis industry, and being the first ambassadors of this medicine in Ohio, we have to take the mentality that we are running a compliance business first before we are running any other business," OPC's compliance director Greg Cozzens said.Cozzens continued in his reasoning, diving a bit into OPC's thought process."We took the rules and the requirements from the state of Ohio as our bare-minimum baseline and started building a program upward from there," Cozzens said. "We built a world-class operation that's well above any standard within the state of Ohio or nationally. We aspire to set that standard and show that Ohio and OPC can be a leader for how this industry is developed."A medical marijuana plant is shown growing from inside OPC Cultivation in Huron. At its fullest potential, and on any given day, there will be up to 2,000 plants of 30 different varieties grown inside OPC's greenhouse.Taking the tourOn a recent weekday, OPC staff members invited the Register inside their headquarters, within Huron's corporate park off Rye Beach Road. After breaking ground in December 2017, crews finished construction work this past summer.For various reasons — the fear of revealing company secrets, an oath to uphold privacy laws, among other reasons — OPC workers didn't divulge every detail about their operation but did open up on certain aspects.It's no simple task walking through OPC's doors. Everyone, even employees, must go through an extensive background check and pass through several checkpoints before even seeing a green plant.Those who receive access, be it workers or guests, are monitored at all times. An armed security staff not only patrols the area 24/7 but also watches more than 100 cameras, covering every inch of the facility, from a back room. If necessary, Huron police commanders have access to OPC's surveillance videos and can respond to incidents happening there."We have gone above and beyond the extensive rule requirements to ensure that our facility has implemented the highest levels of safety and security protocols," said David Olds, OPC's security director, who previously worked for multiple local law enforcement agencies. "We are probably overbuilt. But that's just part of being a good ambassador to this program and ensuring its successful rollout for patients in Ohio."Pictured is an office setting at OPC Cultivation in Huron, where workers conduct business. Today OPC employs about 25 people. By year's end, the number could jump up to 35, giving OPC an annual payroll of about $2 million.OPC employs about 25 people today. By year's end, the number could jump up to 35, giving OPC an annual payroll of about $2 million. The company previously indicated it would, one day, like to employ 75 full-time workers.Those presently employed all aspired to work for a company sharing a similar belief and mindset for cannabis.Just ask Sara Klingman, the company's stakeholder engagement manager."I came to Ohio Patients' Choice because I'm passionate about medical cannabis and the way that it gives people their lives back," Klingman said.Klingman then relayed a personal situation to expand upon her point."I had a good friend who ended up getting diagnosed with Crohn's disease at a very young age. I watched her go through multiple surgeries and endure severe pain on a daily basis," Klingman said. "To this day, I know that medical cannabis can help her. Luckily, it's a qualifying condition in Ohio. I know that the company I work for is producing medicine that may be able to directly benefit someone I know and love."Among some other qualifying conditions for patients to receive medical marijuana in Ohio: Alzheimer's, ALS, cancer, MS, Parkinson's, PTSD and Tourette's.All medical marijuana grown at OPC Cultivation in Huron undergoes an extensive process. "Our sun-grown cannabis operation provides one of only a few such options in the Ohio market," OPC's compliance director Greg Cozzens said. "This enhances our product quality. Science and technology are foundational pillars of what we do."The science behind OPC's growing processOPC expects — at its fullest potential, and on any given day — up to 2,000 plants of 30 different varieties will grow from the greenhouse. Each plant has different properties to provide medicine for all qualifying conditions permitted by Ohio law. For OPC, planting began in August, and the initial crop should complete its growth cycle by January.Jeff McCourt, OPC's chief executive officer, provided a step-by-step guide for how the facility grows medical marijuana:• Plant cuttings are taken from "mother plants" — a term used for a plant grown for the purpose of taking cuttings, or offsets, in order to grow more quantity of the same plant — in the greenhouse.• Plant cuttings are placed in a "propagation" room — a term used for the breeding of specimens of a plant or animal by natural processes from the parent stock —until they grow to about 12 inches tall, and new root growth is established.• Once rooted, cuttings move to the vegetative room in the greenhouse, where they'll undergo 18-hour daylight cycles to encourage rapid growth mimicking spring and summer conditions.OPC Cultivation's compliance director Greg Cozzens holds up a batch of medical marijuana plants grown from the company's headquarters in Huron. All of OPC products come from a "mother plant" — a term used for a plant grown for the purpose of taking cuttings, or offsets, in order to grow more quantity of the same plant — in its greenhouse.• After about a month, these plants move to flowering zones inside the greenhouse. They'll remain there for the last two to three months of their growth cycles, depending on variety.• OPC's cultivation director Todd Metevia programmed the lights and blackout curtains in the greenhouse flower bays to provide 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness. This tells the plants its fall and time to express their flowers before winter comes. The flowers contain the botanical oils and medicinal properties of a plant.• After the plants are fully flowered, and stand about 6 feet tall, they are harvested, and excess foliage is trimmed off. Plants then spend the next month drying and curing the flowers. This two-step drying process ensures the botanical oils, their flavor and smell notes have all properly developed into a top-quality, finished flower product.• OPC packages the product.• Security personnel delivers it to dispensaries across the state for sale to registered patients.McCourt believes people can start buying OPC's products from dispensaries in January.Cozzens, meanwhile, explained what makes OPC's products stand out from the rest.OPC Cultivation workers inspect various medical marijuana plants growing from inside the company's greenhouse, a 30,000-square-foot, controlled-environment structure. While employing a sophisticated lighting system, the greenhouse also allows for natural light to enter and provide nutrients for plants."Our sun-grown cannabis operation provides one of only a few such options in the Ohio market," Cozzens said. "This enhances our product quality. Science and technology are foundational pillars of what we do. Every single plant in our facility is tracked from the moment it is created to the moment it is sold to a dispensary." The company also values environmental practices when growing medical marijuana, according to company chief financial officer George Elmer."We have designed a sustainable production process, relying predominantly on the natural sunlight to nourish our plants, using a closed-loop hydroponic water system that treats and reuses our water, rather than sending it to the lake, and a composting arrangement that diverts about 9 tons of waste per week from going to landfills and instead reuses it as a high-quality compost ingredient."Back in August, OPC Cultivation workers planted the initial medical marijuana crops at the greenhouse. In January, the plants should reach their full growth cycle and be ready for sale at dispensaries across Ohio.What's the deal with the dispensary?In June, OPC also received a state license to sell marijuana through a dispensary, a pharmacy-like operation selling medical marijuana in flowers, vapors, tinctures, patches, edibles, oils and other legal substances. In Ohio, it remains illegal for people to smoke marijuana.OPC obtained permission to build a dispensary on Cleveland Road at a property once housing a Burger King. It's located near the Rye Beach Road (U.S. 6) intersection.But outrage sparked throughout the community, with many locals raising issues about such an establishment near Woodlands Intermediate and school children. This past summer, to quell concerns, Huron city council approved a resolution prohibiting any dispensary from operating within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, library or church.OPC executives didn't initially fight the action. They instead collaborated with city council on a site agreeable to those parties and community members: in the corporate park beside OPC's cultivation center.One problem, however, arose: The state never signed off on this move.Now OPC has sat idle while other companies receiving dispensary licenses — including The Forest Sandusky at 1651 Tiffin Ave. (U.S. 6) across from Dollar General in Sandusky — have begun construction and will open their medical marijuana retail operations within weeks.Simply put, because of business interests, OPC can't wait any longer.In October, OPC filed a lawsuit against the city of Huron and the state to figure out where it can operate a dispensary from."We look forward to the resolution of this issue and will continue to partner with the city and the community to make Huron a place where healing, science and innovation happens," McCourt said.A medical marijuana plant is shown growing from inside OPC Cultivation in Huron. At its fullest potential, and on any given day, there will be up to 2,000 plants of 30 different varieties grown inside OPC's greenhouse.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.