world’s largest publicly-traded marijuana producer “Chocolate Shoppe,” proclaim the golden letters on an interior wall — put there as a tribute to past glory — but Linton’s operation, now demurely christened Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED.TO 2.48%), bristles with high-tech equipment; the production area requires a fingerprint scan for access. Inside, rows of lush marijuana plants will be harvested and dried and become fodder for joints and pipes as well as refined into oils for soft-gel capsules to treat chronic pain, nausea from cancer treatment, sleep disorders, and anxiety.
Canopy Growth is the world’s largest publicly-traded marijuana producer, with a market value of more than $6 billion. But its ticker, WEED, is true to its roots, and, similarly, Linton hasn’t forgotten Paterson and the credit union that made it possible. “I’ve been a walking brochure for them,” he says.