Photos: Canadian students learn to grow pot at cannabis college
Updated On Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Canada became the first industrialized nation to legalize the recreational use of cannabis on Wednesday, fulfilling a campaign promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals who had argued the move would keep pot out of the hands of underage users and reduce related crime. In brightly lighted climate-controlled rooms at Ontario's Niagara College, protected by fences and layers of locked doors, are 50 cannabis plants that 24 students are using to to irrigate, feed, protect, harvest and cure -- becoming the first in the country to get formal credentials in growing pot.
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Bill MacDonald, program coordinator of the new Commercial Cannabis Production Program at Niagara College, instructs his students inside the marijuana lab. As Canadians usher in the legalization of recreational cannabis this week, 24 students are becoming the first in the country to get formal credentials in growing pot. (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Canada will become the first industrialized nation to legalize the recreational use of cannabis on Wednesday, fulfilling a campaign promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals who had argued the move would keep pot out of the hands of underage users and reduce related crime. (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Students enter the shipping container which houses the marijuana lab. In brightly lighted climate-controlled rooms, protected by fences and layers of locked doors, are 50 cannabis clones that students will learn to irrigate, feed, protect, track with bar codes, test for chemical content, harvest and cure, said program coordinator Bill MacDonald. (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Bill MacDonald instructs his students on how to use light meters for the marijuana lab. “They’re also learning the business side. If you’re growing this crop, how much is it going to cost you? How much labor (will) you need?” (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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They’ll learn cannabis has light needs similar to the chrysanthemum’s and feeding similar to a tomato or a pepper. “It’s an extremely unique plant, and people have a real emotional attachment to it.” (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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A small marijuana plant, under red light, grows in the lab at the new Commercial Cannabis Production Program. As authorities worry Canada’s legal cannabis supply may fall short of demand and fail to choke off the black market, the program is attracting interest, MacDonald said. (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST
Bill MacDonald changes the LED lights inside the marijuana lab. “Licensed producers are already lining up for our graduates,” he said (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Students Michal Marcinkiewicz and Carson Otto measure blue light in the marijuana lab. Canada’s burgeoning marijuana industry has caught the attention of major retailers like Walmart Inc’s Canadian unit and other global companies, mainly in the alcohol and beverage industries, who are considering entering the market for cannabis-infused products. (Carlos Osorio / REUTERS)
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Updated on Oct 17, 2018 10:07 AM IST