What? The security concerns around that opium poppy production is a huge deal. They funnel it into all sorts of countries and it's a primary export for some of these countries - not legally to medical companies either. Find a friend in the military who was stationed at a base near the poppy fields in Iraq and ask him what he thinks about the security concerns.
It stores well enough so it can grow in an open field? Meaning they could store it all winter and only grow it in the summer?
Bugs, theft, security, quality assurance, reliability, etc are all major concerns. This statement is very short-sighted.
The entire process they've developed focuses on tracking every gram that's produced and producing laboratory quality medicine (yes, I know this isn't work out well so far).
They're letting them grow it in a greenhouse. They're not going to let them grow "illegal" drugs in an open field.
I am speaking of the legal production of opium, not the illegal fields in the middle east. It is produced in France, Japan, the UK, and Australia legally for pharmaceutical purposes. If they can do this, why couldn't we have outdoor fields.
Yes, you can grow one crop per year and sell it year round. Freezers are quite miraculous.
Bugs: Same problems indoors and in the greenhouse. In fact, many are harder to control indoors.
Theft/security: Build a fence. They grow it for research in Mississippi outdoors. It can be done.
QA: It would have the same QA requirements. Indoor production has the same concerns with mold, etc. Most medicinal plants are cultivated outside and have the same QA without issue. As we have discussed, maybe not all producers follow the rules on this, but I know of a few that do.
Reliability: I dont see the problem. We produce wheat once a year and have a reliable supply...
As for tracking every gram, I dont see the difference between a room full of plants and a field full of plants. You can put security cameras, fences, etc. outside just as easily as inside. The difference is that the sun is free.
Trying to treat Cannabis as a pharmaceutical is to ignore the inherent difference; it is a plant, not a synthetic single molecule. There are other countries that prescribe medicinal plants (ie. St. John's Wort in Germany) that can serve as a model and Canada has NHP regulations already in place (in fact, much of the MMPR is pretty much cut and pasted from them). Obviously it needs QA and standardization, but at the end of the day it is a plant. No one in their right mind would ever consider growing other crops at a commercial scale, including medicinal plants, under HID lighting in an enclosed facility because it dosnt really make much sense. The only reason it made sense for Cannabis is because it is illegal and the price is artificially inflated.
