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Thursday, December 18, 2014
Alta Vista to Enter Washington State to Facilitate the Sustainable Growth of Marijuana
Alta Vista Ventures Ltd. ("Alta Vista" or the "Company") (AVV.C) is pleased to announce it plans to enter the legal marijuana market in Washington State by building and leasing greenhouse facilities to Licenced Producers for the sustainable growth of marijuana for the burgeoning legal recreational marijuana market.
Initial Leasee
The Company has entered into an exclusive intent to lease agreement with Nice Buds LLC ("Nice Buds") of Washington State to enter into a long term lease agreement with the Company. It is understood that Nice Buds will lease a property, greenhouse(s), office building(s) and security systems from the Company.
Nice Buds, under Marijuana Producer and Processor License No. 416681, will require up to 21,000 square feet of canopy space for their Tier 3 operation.
All agreements remain subject to the signing of a formal long term Lease as well as Service Agreements as well as satisfactory due diligence by both parties.
Sustainable Growth Model
As a result of months of due diligence and investigations management of the Company believes that competition within the legal marijuana market in Washington State will lead producers to cost effective sustainable growing.
This will be accomplished by growing in greenhouses as modern greenhouses are a hybrid of indoor and outdoor farming - the best of both worlds in one production system that provides low cost high quality product. The singular reason why marijuana was previously grown indoors was to hide it. As it is now legal in Washington State the Company believes that there will be a shift towards growing in greenhouses similar to those that are used for flowers and vegetables.
The use of greenhouses provides the benefits of Mother Nature, such as sunlight, which is superior to the artificial light of grow lamps, without the outdoor hazards like frost, rain and wind. In addition, various manufacturers claim that modern greenhouses can save anywhere from 25% to 50% on electricity costs compared to indoor grows. As electricity is the single largest cost in the growth of marijuana it is anticipated that growing in greenhouses will significantly decrease the cost of production.
The Company has used its belief in the future of sustainable growing to attract Nice Buds as a future tenant and will be actively seeking additional licensees.
Location
Another significant advantage to the sustainable growth model is that greenhouses can be located on agricultural land, which is much more readily available than the commercial/light industrial land required for warehouses. As a natural by-product of the location of agricultural land there is a significantly larger amount of land that falls within I-502's location requirements.
The Company is in negotiations for the purchase of a parcel of agricultural land and the Company will provide additional details at such time a deal is consummated.
About I-502
Washington State Initiative 502 ("I-502") passed by popular vote in November 2012 allowing for the legalization of the production, processing and sale (retail) of marijuana and their related products. Now that marijuana is legal, the Washington State Liquor Control Board will control and monitor the activities of the State Licensees.
The State of Washington has allotted a total of 2 million square feet of growing space for the licensed production of marijuana. Production licenses are broken into 3 categories: Tier 1 for less than 2,000 square feet, Tier 2 for less than 10,000 square feet and Tier 3 for between 10,000 and 30,000 square feet. Due to a significant excess of applications the State reduced the amounts to 70% thus the largest square footage of growing space issued by the State was 21,000. It is believed by many in the industry that a well-run Tier 3 licensee will potentially be given authorization by the State to increase production to the maximum of 30,000 square feet. As I-502 does not limit the amount of plants that can be grown with each license, a licensee can manufacture as much product as their ability allows them to produce.
On behalf of the Board,
"Ian Foreman"
Ian Foreman, P.Geo.
President
For additional information on Alta Vista Ventures please call the Company at 604-678-2531.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
You can also view this News Release on our website at:
http://www.altavistaventures.ca/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=688492 |