Medical marijuana producer could soon be on TSX

A group of Ottawa technology executives has made a bid to take prospective medical marijuana producer Tweed Inc. public.

Tweed Inc. made headlines last year when it revealed it was buying the former Hersheys plant in Smiths Falls, Ont. The Canadian company is awaiting Health Canadas approval to start producing medical marijuana.

The investor group, LW Capital Pool, said it is in the process of acquiring Tweed to take it public on the TSX Venture exchange, the junior exchange to the TSX.

LW Capital Pool director Debbie Weinstein said her group believes the company is more than hype.

"Ignoring the sexiness ... our board felt very comfortable in being able to analyze the pros and cons of the business plans and operations, and then of course we couldn't ignore the hype and marketing around this particular industry," said Weinstein.

Other Ottawa technology veterans, such as Standard Innovation CEO Danny Osadca and Invest Ottawa's Entrepreneur-in-residence Andrew Moffatt, are also on the board.

Weinstein said running a marijuana company won't take these executives out of their element.

"The aspects of running Tweed is not dissimilar to the expertise or knowledge you gain in running or overseeing high tech companies," said Weinstein.

Officials with Tweed say they've always intended to list as a public company and say this is a major step towards achieving that objective.