A group of private investors, including Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris, have applied to operate a medical cannabis cultivation facility in Braddock, Pennsylvania, which Mayor John Fetterman said would allow the community “to take a giant step forward” after the loss of steel jobs in the Mon Valley, local station KDKA reports.
“It would be a real game changer here in town if we were able to secure the facility,” Fetterman said in the report.
Braddock is vying for one of the few cultivation licenses available under the state’s medical cannabis program – which divides the state into six regions. The town is located in the 11-county southwest corner where only two grower/processor and five dispensary permits are available. Last month the McKeesport planning commission supported a plan for a medical cannabis cultivation site – the town is also located in the southwest sector.
And while the medical cannabis facility would not replace the lost steel jobs, it would employ about 50 to 70 people.
“There are two licenses for southwestern Pennsylvania and I think it’s whole appropriate that two communities that need this economic shot in the arm would be the ones that got the licenses,” Fetterman said.
The Braddock Council is expected to endorse the proposal.