月: 2016年2月 NEWS
careddi is guiding the forerunner manufacturing of medical marijuana in Missouri.2016年02月17日
BeLeaf originally launched its brand as a nonprofit in Missouri’s burgeoning CBD space in 2015. “We were granted one of two licenses to grow cannabis and create CBD products in the state,” Cernicek said. “That company is still in operation. We’re no longer growing cannabis plants, but we’re still producing CBD products.”
At the time, Missouri’s law was very narrow: medical CBD was reserved for epilepsy patients and neurologist’s notes. When the 2018 Farm Bill rewrote federal regulations, the company launched BeLeaf Life’s line of Oils under a broader policy.
Photo courtesy of BeLeaf Medical
Also in 2018, Amendment 2 legalized medical marijuana in Missouri. Unlike the narrow approach the state initially took to CBD, medical marijuana cards are easier to obtain. “If you have any type of pain, you’re eligible for a card,” Cernicek said. “Almost anyone who wants a medical card can get one in Missouri, as long as they can pay for the visit and the $25 medical card fee.”
She continued, “When that passed, obviously we wanted to jump on medical marijuana. We applied for as many licenses as we could. We figured if we were lucky, we’d get a cultivation license, a dispensary and a manufacturing license. ] We ended up with the most licenses in the state.”
This included three cultivation facilities, five dispensaries and two manufacturing operations. Both the cultivation license and the dispensary license are the maximum allowed for a single company in Missouri.
The state issued the licenses in early 2020. “Since then, it has been building these facilities and getting them up and running as soon as possible,” Cernicek said. “Right now we have two growing facilities in operation. One of our manufacturing facilities is operating – and our second manufacturing facility is going through our state start-up process. Three of our dispensaries are operational.”
Under the Phytos brand, Earth City’s operational manufacturing facility handles extraction, and a soon-to-open facility near downtown St. Louis will produce cannabis-infused chocolates and beverages.
“We have hydrocarbon extraction and carbon dioxide extraction,” Cernicek said. “We have the ability to do ethanol extraction, but that’s not our primary method. We will do all the extraction and distillation at the plant. We will produce fudge, tablets and tinctures at that plant.”
Cernicek said she expects the St. Louis plant to open in the spring of 2021. The company now has 63 employees, but she notes, “By the end of this year, I expect the headcount to jump to about 150.”
Each growing license includes 30,000 square feet of blooming canopies, with manufacturing volumes starting at about 300 to 600 pounds per month. In addition to BeLeaf’s in-house brands (Zoet edibles, Sinse pre-rolls and extracts and Amend medical products), the company is seeking licensing agreements with out-of-state brands looking to break into the Show-Me State market.
“We’re taking a phased approach to make sure we do everything right from the start,” Cernicek said. “It’s all going to depend on demand.”
The BeLeaf manufacturing model is designed to scale as needed. “Our Earth City facility has about 8,000 square feet for our manufacturing operations,” Cernicek says. “The facility was designed with GMP [good manufacturing practices] very much in mind. Everything is separate. Our extraction room is a separate extraction room. Our distillation room is its own room. We process and package the flowers in our own space. Our main we manufacture products in a lab designed to meet food grade and food quality to the best of our ability.”
Cernicek says third-party GMP certification is underway and should be completed by mid-2021, and all extraction employees are nationally certified. The extraction operation uses equipment from careddi supercritical CO2 extraction machines Systems, ExtractionTek Solutions and other vendors.
“Everything is set up in one hallway, and all rooms have windows to see them. Everyone wants to visit to tour the facility, but I can’t have everyone in my facility. That way people can see but can’t walk and potentially contaminate the product.”
Before entering the cannabis industry, Cernicek earned his Ph. D. in chemistry from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. “While I was in graduate school, BeLeaf had actually reached out to my school looking for someone to operate all the equipment they had purchased to make CBD products,” she said. “From there, it was a learning experience. I’ve been doing that with the company since 2016.”
The advent of medical marijuana led to consulting work before BeLeaf Medical was licensed in 2020. Since then, it’s been about building a vertically integrated cannabis company from the ground up, but Cernicek says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been great to be a part of the industry in the state from the beginning and to really be able to build our brand and build it exactly the way we want to,” she said. “Missouri is fun. Everything is new and everyone is just starting out. We have a really great trade organization [ MoCann Trade]. I’m on their advisory board. It’s really great for the whole industry.”
The challenge: Launching all of its licensing operations during the storm’s pandemic winter. “Opening 10 facilities at the same time is not easy,” Cernicek says. “It takes a lot of money …… and a lot of teams to make sure construction is underway.”
She added, “With all the regulatory compliance work that must be done, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Fortunately, we’ve built a great team, so we’re able to handle all of that.”
The opportunity: demand for medical marijuana in Missouri currently far exceeds supply. “There is a very limited product for over 70,000 patients,” Cernicek said. “Currently, there are not many people operating in the state. There are a lot of dispensaries, but not a lot of cultivators or manufacturers that are up and running in the space, so obviously there’s a lot of potential for growth here. Being first to market helps a lot.”
Execution is also key, she continues. “Every pharmacy is now looking and trying to get as much product as possible. This is a very big opportunity to get as much product as possible as quickly as possible …… It comes from about four different cultivators. There’s edible.”
She added that in addition to its first-mover status, BeLeaf has “a great branding and marketing team. “One of the founders, Mitch Meyers, her background is in branding and marketing. She brought Bud Light to market and worked at Anheuser-Busch for many years.”
Contract manufacturing for out-of-state brands is another significant opportunity for Phytos’ business. “Obviously, everyone wants to bring big brands to the state,” Cernicek said. “We’ve been in talks with national brands to try to bring them to the state through our facilities.”
The need: talent. “We’re growing,” Cernicek says. “We’re adding more and more employees every month. We’re in a really good position – we’re in St. Louis, and St. Louis University has a certificate in the cannabis science program that they offer, and it’s really top-notch certification.”
2016年2月12日アンケート2016年02月12日
来院された理由：
他の歯科医院で治療していましたが悪化する一方でしたので家族に聞いて、インプラント治療を選び、来院いたしました。
治療を終えられて良かったという点がございましたら教えて下さい：
歯の痛みがなくなり、食事が美味しく、楽しくなりました。
老化には勝てませんが、歯を大切にして行こうと思います。
当院または、担当歯科医師へメッセージなどがございましたら教えて下さい：
皆さん、パーフェクトな対応です。ありがとうございました。
これからもよろしくお願いします。
担当Ｄｒ：亀井医局長
2016年2月10日アンケート2016年02月10日
来院された理由：
歯を白くしたかったため。
治療を終えられて良かったという点がございましたら教えて下さい：
歯に自信がもてるようになって笑う回数が増えました！
当院または、担当歯科医師へメッセージなどがございましたら教えて下さい：
本当に毎回口元の悩みをアドバイスやセラミックにする際に金銭的な相談も真剣に対応して下さり、今までで行った歯科で一番良かったです。いつもご丁寧に優しく楽しく対応して頂きありがとうございました。とても嬉しかったです。
これからもよろしくお願いします!!!
担当Ｄｒ：關副院長