BUFFALO, N.Y. — If everything goes Flora's way, within a few years the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce park will turn into a hub of activity for the marijuana industry.
Floracal Farms is a marijuana company based in San Diego. It has plans to develop a $200 million facility that is 1.25 million square feet in south Buffalo.
It said it plans to bring 500-1000 jobs to the area, but what are those jobs?
- working in greenhouse
- agriculture
- lab technicians
- scientists
- product development
- marketing
- human resources
"It would be similar to what you have in almost any manufacturing facility," Jim Caccavo, CEO of Flora, said.
The base pay is $15 an hour. However, depending on the job, employees could make a six-figure salary.
The company said it's committed to training its workforce in conjunction with Erie Community College.
People could enroll in a cannabis degree of sorts and learn, "if you want to become a marketer. If you want to become a cannabis lawyer. If you want to be an accountant in cannabis," Caccavo said.
While the facility would be filled with rows upon rows of marijuana plants, the company won't sell anything like joints.
"It will be health and wellness products, so it will be balms, lotions, and beverages," Caccavo said.
However, there is one large caveat to all of this - whether marijuana becomes legal in New York.
"We don't believe it's a matter of if, but a matter of when," Brad Termini, co-founder of Flora, said.
State lawmakers could vote on the measure as early as April, and the governor has already said he'll sign any bill legalizing marijuana.
If everything goes as Flora wants, the company said it hopes to open its Buffalo plant in the second half of next year of 2020.
