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High hopes for cannabis operation

22/6/2018

17 Comments

 
PictureKarlya and Warren Everitt and their young daughter on the site where they plan to build a medicinal cannabis plant.
By Catherine Watson

A medicinal cannabis factory in Wonthaggi is expected to create around 20 local jobs and provide new opportunities for local farmers.

The managing director of MediPharm Australia, Warren Everitt told the Post he hoped the operation would be up and running by October.
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The factory will be built on a 1000-square-metre site at the corner of Korumburra Road and Cyclone Street currently used as an informal car park by visitors to the Wonthaggi Market.

Mr Everitt said the cost of the building would be around $1 million plus another $2 million to furbish it with “clean rooms” to laboratory standard for producing pharmaceutical products.

He expects the business to create around 20 local jobs for chemists, security personnel and plant operatives, as well as new opportunities for local farmers. 

Mr Everitt and his wife Karlya (nee Studham) grew up in the local area, and are former students of Wonthaggi Secondary College.
​

​He said they chose Wonthaggi for the business partly because of their family connections to the area but also because Wonthaggi had easy access to farmland, electricity and clean water, with back-up from the desalination plant. “Coca Cola didn’t want to use it but it provides opportunities for business like ours.”

He’s also keen to use the area’s green credentials – the wind farm and coastal location –  to market the product’s green image. 

The business is owned and operated by MediPharm Australia, a subsidiary of a private Canadian company called MediPharm which has been manufacturing medicinal cannabis for several years.

Initially the Wonthaggi plant will extract oil from imported cannabis and material sourced from other parts of Australia, but Mr Everitt said he was keen to partner with local farmers looking for alternative crops.

The factory will be capable of processing up to 100,000 kilograms of cannabis material. 

Medicinal cannabis production only uses the flower heads so farmers will also be able to market the hemp fibre, which is used for making rope, canvas, paper and a high-end linen-like material. 

Victoria was the first state to legalise the use and production of medicinal cannabis, initially only for use by children with severe intractable epilepsy, but it is now able to be prescribed for any condition where doctors think it may benefit patients.

Other states quickly followed the Victorian lead. Last year the Therapeutics Goods Association (TGA) rescheduled medicinal cannabis products, so it is now legal for doctors to prescribe it.

MediPharm Australia has been licensed by the federal Office of Drug Control and has now applied to TGA to commence local business operations.

Mr Everitt began his working life as a plumber before studying IT and working in digital marketing. Curently a “global partner” with the Melbourne firm MarketOne, he intends to step aside from that role to concentrate on the cannabis manufacture.


“I’ve found my passion,” he said. “I want to move into this space because it’s really exciting.” 
​

Mrs Everitt, who is a registered nurse, said she was excited about the medical potential of cannabis.

Asked if they expected a local backlash from anti-drug campaigners, Mr Everitt responded: “The reality is if you look at what causes most grief it’s prescription drugs, the opiates, oxycontin, that people get addicted to.”

He said there was a growing market for medicinal cannabis worldwide.

“If you look locally it’s being used to treat epilepsy and autism and provide pain relief for cancer, back pain, arthritis. The use of cannabis is much more developed in other countries.

​"Today Australians are prescribed opiates for pain relief but that may change once cannabis is more widely used.”
​

He would like to hear from local farmers interested in partnering with MediPharm Australia’s Wonthaggi operation. 
17 Comments
Jacqui Paulson
23/6/2018 10:31:17 am

It really concerns me that the Victorian government has jumped the gun on this one. The research regarding the benefits of medical marijuana is still very inconclusive. Most positive results are anecdotal. Placebo trials are almost impossible to conduct successfully. Most universities that are conducting studies are stating that it is too early to come to any positive conclusions and yet our government has ignored all of that and made these products legal. With no long term studies and far less proof that it works, they want to introduce into our community something which may harm and may not be the miracle cure it promises to be. I personally don't want our community changed from a food producing community to a drug growing community. Didn't we have a shootout recently to prevent that?

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Bill
23/6/2018 04:42:29 pm

theres ample evidence that it has medical benefit; its affect on pain has been very well noted.

this isnt a new drug, its been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years (that we know of) and its potential negative effects are very well known and massively studied.

more to the point, a great number of people are already using it for health purposes and are at risk of prosecution for trying to have a better life; wether that is a reduction in seizures or the ability to not have to be addicted to opiates to get pain relief; your proposal that cannabis products should still be illegal means that these patients already using it are criminalised.

Criminalising sick people for trying to get better or gain quality of life is an awful thing to do.

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Pete Granger
24/6/2018 09:04:27 pm

Why the need to make a distinction between plant-based food and plant-based medicinals? They are both agricultural produce, and both have utility.

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Gabriella Ilardi
11/2/2022 02:33:39 pm

The medicinal benefits far out-way the disadvantages we would face if otherwise denied the prospects of further potential medical discoveries to help improve, cure or maintain serious diseases and illness.

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Dan
23/6/2018 02:22:55 pm

How do I apply for a job

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David Manning
23/6/2018 02:37:19 pm

Medical science is forever evolving. The use of medicinal cannabis has gained widespread acceptance for a variety of uses. Hemp fibre also has advantages when compared with other industrially produced fibres. I wish Karlya and Warren all the best and congratulate them on bringing the benefits of this industry to the local community and more importantly to those who it provides relief.

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Yvonne McRae
23/6/2018 04:30:37 pm

Well done Warren and Karlya. Medicinal cannabis is prescribed by doctors how much better than the opiates many people rely on. Remember it is in medicinal form, no local coffee shops will have cannabis cookies on their menus. How much better if products are made from hemp (the by-product of cannabis farming), rather than all these 'fake' fibres, many by-products of the petroleum industry. Good work!
Yvonne McRae

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Michelle
23/6/2018 05:07:15 pm

Hoe do I apply for a job?

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Sue Packham
23/6/2018 06:18:46 pm

I'm confident that the use of medicinal cannabis and hemp products will increase to our benefit over the next 10 years.
In our goal to have the plastic bag free town, it has been stated that hemp shopping bags are better for the environment than cotton ones. Hemp uses less water, needs less insecticides and is a stronger fabric.
Great to see such a new business starting up in our area.

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Rachael
23/6/2018 06:56:23 pm

Sounds like a great idea, all the very best.
Looking forward to seeing more of you both and your gorgeous kids.

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Emma Draper
23/6/2018 07:28:49 pm

Well done Warren and Karlya. The times are changing! Producing and providing a product like this will change many lives. Giving local farmers the chance for alternative farming is fantastic. The HEMP market is starting to boom - it is a much better alternative than deforestation.

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Sunny
23/6/2018 08:19:49 pm

This is great news, moving forward to better alternatives than harmful opiates, which my brother died from, too late for him but will be wonderful for many suffers. Creating a new industry that will thrive in years to come and is already doing so overseas, creating local jobs and more options for farmers, nothing to complain about here. Well done guys! How awesome they chose to come back to their home town, so let's support them wholeheartedly.

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NATHAN jenner link
24/6/2018 10:21:05 am

This would be a great idea I would love to work for U both of U how would I go about trying to get a job with U both I would love more information if U have it

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Skye
25/6/2018 04:01:20 pm

Hi, I would like any information regarding job opportunities.
Thanks

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Terri Burns
25/6/2018 10:23:13 pm

Great work Karlya and Warren I know of people who have used cannibis oil for cancer and pain management with great results and know of some that would would definately support your cause due to their medical diagnosis Good luck with your venture Its nice to have you back in good old Wonthaggi

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Vicki
11/9/2019 04:25:27 pm

Just wondering , how to apply for a job.

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