Local Man Hopes To Start Massive Medical Marijuana Grow Operation
HEMPFIELD TWP. (KDKA) -- Rodney Yemc's family owns a facility located on Arona Road in Hempfield Township.
What he hopes to do some day with his 25,000 square foot facility is begin a marijuana operation as the state has now legalized medicinal marijuana for medicinal usage.
Rodney Yemc has no problem sharing his enthusiasm over his latest business venture.
"I have an extreme passion for this. Every day I wake up and think what can I do today to move this company forward," he said.
Yemc is the proprietor of Rodney's, a popular restaurant in Hempfield Township. But its inside a massive warehouse he hopes to grow a medical cannabis operation under his company -- Pennsylvania Cultivation Group.
"We believe we're gonna start out with 3,000 plants, netting us 2,000 pounds of dry product a year," he said.
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That product will then be turned into cannabis oil for sale.
"We will have to put considerable money into this operation, this particular facility, in the neighborhood of $1.2 to $2 million," Yemc said.
Yemc insists it will pay off eventually.
"Maybe in a few years you could be at $3 million, $4 million a year," he said.
But all of this depends on approval from the state.
What we need from the state is a growing and extraction and our dispensing license," Yemc said.
Even after licensing, it could be a while before the business gets up and running.
It could be up to two years before if and when the permits are finally issued. People who want to work in there will undergo extensive background checks before being considered for a job.