As the federal government moves towards legalizing marijuana, Health Canada continues to licence facilities to produce, and distribute cannabis for medical purposes.

One of those licences could soon be in the hands of a Kelowna businessman and entrepreneur

Inspectors from Health Canada were at a proposed West Kelowna production facility two weeks ago, and, if all goes well, Trent Kitsch could be licensed to sell medical marijuana by the summer.

Kitsch has been waiting for this opportunity for four years. He's spent several million dollars getting his facility up to Health Canada standards.

"Patience and persistence and little bit of naivety thrown in there too," said Kitsch of the four year wait.

"But, we really believe in Canada's future and are really excited to be part of Heath Canada's production, and reaching a lot of satisfied patients."

If licensed, he'll be able to both produce medical marijuana and sell it through the mail, to clients with a legally obtained medical marijuana card.

If the Kitsch name is familiar, it should be. He developed the SAXX underwear brand, and currently runs a successful construction company and winery.

He doesn't believe being in the cannabis business will harm his business reputation.

"I'm part of the open-minded set, and I believe cannabis has had a bad reputation for a lot of years, and I'm really part of the cannabis future. I believe the positive benefits of healing far outweigh the negative benefits.

"It's a matter of time before people become more educated as access increased. As stigma goes down, consumption is going to go up. We also believe in making very high-quality products, so I'm really attracted to the industry because of the opportunity to make great products and create a great lifestyle brand."

Kitsch also sees an opportunity as both a producer and seller for the recreational market once that becomes legal in 14 months.

"Our understanding is the federal government wants to ensure Canadians are healthy and safe, so it's possible in the future recreational market, licensed producers will be relied upon to produce cannabis for both medicinal and recreational markets," said Kitsch.

"I think the future of storefronts is going to be a big part of the cannabis distribution model. And as the provincial government and municipal governments put their say into distribution, we're going to become a big part of that we hope. Our dream is to have a number of stores."

But, the number one goal: a safe, quality product. Something he says may not always be the case now.

"The cannabis people currently consume from the streets or from dispensaries is often supplied from the gray or black market and is not quality assured. It hasn't been tested by a second party. Any Heath Canada cannabis is tested by a second party, so patients can be assured they are smoking something that won't be harmful to them."

He says he will have to have two batches come back clean from quality assured tests before he is able to sell to clients.

"I believe we are going to have a very high quality product that is not as mass produced. More hand-crafted, more high quality."

The company, DOJA has announced a go-public transaction and a $3-million equity raise to expand their future production capacity. It is focused on building a grass-roots shareholder base and is opening the investment up to accredited investors.

Those interested in investing or acquiring more information can contact the company by email at [email protected] or visit the website at www.dojamj.com.