CHATHAM-KENT, ONT. — On the first day of Canada’s marijuana gold rush, the CEO of AgMedica Bioscience Inc. is trying to show a visitor the company’s products online at the Ontario Cannabis Store.But before Trevor Henry can type out Shiskaberry or Cold Creek Kush, the website crashes. “Predictable,” he chuckles. Henry wonders if the overwhelming surge is as much curiosity as it is pent-up demand for cannabis. He gets an answer two hours later when he learns the one gram packages of Cold Creek Kush, a dried flower recommended for “happiness, hunger, relaxation and/or energy” under AgMedica’s Vertical brand have sold out.There is low-key earnestness to Henry. Twenty-six years working with animals likely reinforced that approach. He’s on leave from his veterinary practice, trading canines for cannabis, to start AgMedica. He and four other founders, including two from the mushroom business — “just plain mushrooms,” says Henry — are aiming high as they try to push the company to the forefront of cannabis production both nationally and globally.“It’s come to the point where I have people flying in on private jets from Europe looking to make investments in things like this,” he says, his voice a mix of incredulity and amazement. “If I’d have told my mother five years ago that I was on the way to the airport to pick up someone from Kazakhstan to show them my cannabis facility, she would have told me I was crazy.”Read more: Despite smooth first day of legalization, high demand could delay deliveries in Ontario, government says Ontario passes pot bill 17 hours after marijuana legalized across CanadaToronto’s Friendly Stranger announces major expansion“But there’s a whole level of excitement with the industry as a whole. There’s no question today is a milestone in the country.” Around most new ventures, there are hopes of limitless ...
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