Tilray medical marijuana grow-op flooded with applications

A new medical marijuana operation opening up near Nanaimo, B.C., has been flooded with applications from people bragging about their experience growing pot.

More than 400 people applied for about 60 positions at the Tilray plant near the Duke Point Ferry Terminal, including cultivators, security guards, and customer service, packaging, shipping and receiving representatives.

Phillipe Lucas, the vice president of patient research and services at Tilray, said it's not every day that an interviewer asks about someone's pot-growing experience, but that was part of the job description for many of the positions.

"What was really interesting about this job fair was having people come and be able to talk about their experience with cannabis production or their own personal use with cannabis use or otherwise and do so openly."

"This certainly surpassed my own expectations…We ended up interviewing over 250 people over two days. It was a really remarkable turnout and it was a lot of fun."

The company says the 53,000 square-foot plant will be operational by April 1. It's one of many that are part of the new federal regulations around the growing and selling of medical marijuana.

Lucas says Tilray has now filled the majority of the positions, but they are still looking for security guards.