Inside Oberlin's Ascension BioMedical cannabis facility, the air is thick and humid. Workers dressed in scrubs and hairnets pass through the maze that connects different rooms of the operation. In one, the sprouting clones from the mother plant. In another, workers brush away the stems from the cannabis buds that will later be used by customers. A key piece to the whole operation is to keep it all sanitized, said Fadi G. Boumitri, CEO of Ascension BioMedical.
"It's much more scientific, much more sophisticated than most people realize," Boumitri said. Another key element of the business is its goal for expansion, Boumitri said. Ascension BioMedical is expected to dramatically increase its size of operations in the coming years. However, Boumitri said concerns of proposed legislation changing how cannabis is regulated have halted construction of the facility's expansion.
Specifically, Boumitri said Ohio Senate Bill 56 "would severely hinder the program" if it were passed into law. Throughout the current facility, a medley of robust, earthy smells permeate the air.
Motor Cake, Wake 'n Cake, Dark Krystal, my personal favorite … Sweet Skunk," Boumitri said as he ran down a list of the different iterations of cannabis grown. "What you're generally going to smell is terpenes." It's here where nearly 30 strains of cannabis are grown and cultivated. From seeds to clones, buds to — eventually — the customer, this cannabis will take months to reach the market, Boumitri said.
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