A cannabis “mega-factory” in California is hoping that eventual federal legalization of cannabis will help it get up to full capacity and allow it to supply the U.S. west coast.
According to Reuters, 4Front’s 170,000-square-foot factory outside of Los Angeles opened in 2021 but is still only operating at around 20% to 25% of its capacity.
"This facility was designed to really be future-proof for us in terms of being able to service not just the entire California market, but once we have the ability to transport cannabis and sell cannabis across state lines, to be able to really feed the West Coast of the country," Joshua Krane, vice president of operations for 4Front, told the publication.
The U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month passed the MORE Act, which would remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances. However, it’s unclear if the bill will make it past the Senate.
Krane said his company hopes that federal legalization will help increase demand and in turn ramp up production at his company’s facility.
4Front said its highly automated factory is the largest in California and that it manufactures both in-house and partner brands for products including oils, tinctures and edibles. Krane said demand for edibles has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
"It's been somewhat difficult to keep up with the additional demand in terms of manufacturing enough for those new customers. There's been a tremendous pivot from alcohol and other vices to cannabis,” he told the publication.
