Pennsylvania company plans marijuana greenhouse

A Hazleton-area company that has decades of experience raising bulbs, sunflowers, poinsettias and other decorative plants hopes to grow with Pennsylvania's new medical marijuana industry.

Van Hoekelen Greenhouses of Kline Township plans to form a new company called TheraBloom that will apply for a state permit to grow and process medical marijuana.

"We're taking what we do, the best of (Van Hoekelen Greenhouses), and putting it into TheraBloom. We're fully committed to both," said Alexander van Hoekelen, whose parents started van Hoekelen Greenhouses or VHG in 1988. The company now employs 160 people.

Seeking a permit is as chancy as winning a lottery so van Hoekelen said the company depends on backing from the community and its elected leaders to prevail. 

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Photo provided by sister publication Cannabis Business Times