Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are certainly poised to live the high life after quitting their royal duties, not only due to the millions they are set to rake in but because their Vancouver Island home is surrounded by ‘potential weed farms’, DailyMail.com can disclose.
Just down the road from the $18 million rental they have been staying at, a disused chicken factory will soon be leased out to cannabis farmers.
But transforming a poultry plant is just the tip of the iceberg for British Columbia’s Saanich District, as entrepreneurs have been swarming the area ever since Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018.
The local council has recently created its own bylaws on non-medical cannabis, which means that anyone owning land in an ‘Agricultural Land Reserve’ (ALR) can not only grow and sell their own herbs, but open cannabis shops and ‘lounges’.
It means the Sussexes’ extravagant waterfront hideaway could be completely surrounded by farmers tending to cannabis crops.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are certainly poised to live the high life after quitting their royal duties, not only due to the millions they are set to rake in but because their Vancouver Island home is surrounded by ‘potential weed farms’, DailyMail.com can disclose
Just down the road from the $18 million rental (pictured) they have been staying at, a disused chicken factory will soon be leased out to cannabis farmers
The local council has recently created its own bylaws on non-medical cannabis, which means that anyone owning land in an ‘Agricultural Land Reserve’ (ALR) can not only grow and sell their own herbs, but open cannabis shops and ‘lounges’. Pictured: Map showing land that could be turned into cannabis farms and shops, as well as a cannabis factory that should be opening up
The Agricultural Land Commission map shows the area around Harry and Meghan’s property is dominated by ALR land, which has the potential to be turned into weed farms.
The Saanich District website states local laws ‘strictly prohibits cannabis lounges, retail sales, distribution and production of recreational cannabis. However, there are some exemptions if you own agriculturally zoned property in Saanich and it is within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), you may be able to produce and distribute cannabis.’
Since the bylaws were passed a month ago, cannabis dispensaries have also sprouted up in the town center and in Victoria, which is nearby.
But the biggest development is the planned chicken-turned-cannabis factory that is two miles east of the royals’ house.
In December, the proposal by Rushco Properties Ltd, a group of local investors including one former town councilor Cam McLennan, to build a ‘cannabis cultivating facility’ on a disused poultry farm was supported by North Saanich Council.
The company plans to lease the five extra long storage units on the estate and aims to open in May, as long as its waste and water management plans gain approval.
McLennan didn’t respond for comment, but told the local newspaper Victoria News: ‘We have had some interest, and that is part of the reason, why we have decided to go down this road in the first place. I know a lot of people out here and the last thing I want to do is come in here and create a stink.’
The local council has recently created its own bylaws on non-medical cannabis, which means that anyone owning land in an ‘Agricultural Land Reserve’ (ALR) can not only grow and sell their own herbs, but open cannabis shops and ‘lounges’. The biggest development is the planned chicken-turned-cannabis factory (pictured) that is two miles east of the royals’ house
Local protesters have tried to block the move claiming that it will cause an offensive smell and create a substantial increase in light pollution. They also wanted to ban cannabis from being sold commercially on the site
Local protesters have tried to block the move claiming that it will cause an offensive smell and create a substantial increase in light pollution. They also wanted to ban cannabis from being sold commercially on the site.
North Saanich golf course Glen Meadows is also up for sale and there’s speculation within the community that it will be sold and turned into a weed-friendly golf course, after the success of a similar golf club in Smiths Falls, Ontario, which changed its name to Rolling Greens and is dubbed ‘Canada’s first cannabis-themed golf course’, according to Vice.
But while the town is up in arms about the issue, their new famous neighbors may not be as quick to voice disapproval on the rise of the local cannabis industry.
Prince Harry reportedly admitted to regularly smoking weed and drinking heavily at parties, which ended up with him attending a drug rehab session.
When Meghan got married to her first husband Trevor Engelson in Jamaica in 2011, her wedding gift bags included marijuana and she boasted of serving 200 joints at the reception, which were hand-rolled by herself, according to leaked emails seen by The Sun.
Her nephew, Tyler Dooley, has a 1,000-acre cannabis farm in Grant’s Pass, Oregon, which he claims is a $200-million-a-year company, and has produced strains such as ‘Sparkle Markle’ and ‘Archie Sparkie’, all under the umbrella brand ‘Royally Grown’.