Mount Uniacke, NS-based cannabis grower Jazz Cabbage will have its product listed in NSLC Cannabis stores starting in November, making it the first vertically integrated marijuana cultivator to sell its product legally in Nova Scotia.

The company said in a press release it relies on “natural ecosystem stabilization strategies” to grow its plants, such as using insects to prevent pest damage, as opposed to the usual, chemical-based approach.

“We sort of think like ‘farm-to-fork’ chefs who are just laser-focused on every aspect of the dishes they create. They would never put a dish in front of you that they couldn’t be proud of. We feel that way about our cannabis products,” said co-founder Sam Harrison in the release.

Jazz Cabbage was founded by a group of engineers, who have custom-designed their production facility to be environmentally friendly. Now their product will be sold by the cannabis outlets of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation. 

Their sustainability measures include heat recapture systems, a closed-loop water recycling system and an emissions reduction agreement with Toronto-based Bullfrog Power -- a cleantech company that sells emissions reduction consulting services and carbon credits.

The founders said in the press release that their facility’s design makes Jazz Cabbage the first net-zero cannabis producer in Canada.

“Our custom lights that we designed and manufactured in-house capture around 70% of their heat production, allowing us to use it and move it to other areas of the facility that need heat, or directly dissipate it outside the facility,” Harrison said.

“And our water and condensate recovery system is about 95% efficient, so at most only an additional 100 litres of water gets added to our facility in a day from our on-site water system. We divert about 1,900 litres from waste in a day.”