The word hangs in the air for just a moment before WeedMD CEO Bruce Dawson-Scully suggests using the word "mite" in a medical cannabis production facility is tantamount to saying "bomb" in an airport.
He's only half joking because the steps the company takes to keep the nearly-invisible predator out of the marijuana plants at its Aylmer facility is painstaking. It's just as airtight as the personnel security system, which includes vehicle screening and signing for a key card that is needed at every door inside the facility. (At certain doors the extra layer of security is a code as well as the card).
Upon entering the facility, shoes need to be rinsed off and then disposable footwear covers added. Hair nets as well as white Ghostbusters-like jumpsuits must be worn.
"We've never actually had a spider mite (inside) but we always use controls," says Nick Trueman, the cultivation manager, who has experience in cannabis production and horticulture.
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