SACO — Walking into Brigid Farm is more like walking into a laboratory than a farm.

The medical marijuana growing facility is locked and secured, and during a recent visit, a shoe wash bin sat in the foyer to help ensure staff weren’t bringing in contaminants.

Cleanliness is “super-important,” said Brett Messer, who owns Brigid Farm with his fiancée, Stephanie Caron. Messer said they were going a step further, and had ordered booties and coveralls for people to wear. The couple also employs a maintenance person to clean and sanitize the facility, which was spotless.

“Elevated microbial levels can pose a health risk for patients with a compromised immune system. Therefore, we take as many precautions as possible and regularly lab test our medicine for the presence of contaminants,” said Messers.

The couple has owned the medical marijuana growing facility for nearly two years.

Medical marijuana growing facilities, also known as caregiver facilities, have been under increased scrutiny recently, as more and more people have applied for permits. Earlier this month, the city implemented a six-month moratorium on granting new permits so it could better study the issue. Facilities already in existence such as Brigid Farm are not impacted by the moratorium.

City Administrator Kevin Sutherland said at a recent City Council meeting that the city has been flooded with calls regarding potential caregivers wanting to start growing facilities, and he was in favor of a moratorium to give the city time to craft zoning regulations for such facilities.

One concern, said Sutherland, is that there may not be a big enough power supply in industrial zones for growing facilities.

On average, Messer said, his business uses about 40,000 kilowatts of electricity a month. “We’re pulling power all the time.”

Messer said when they opened the business, they needed twice as much power as was available, and paid for upgrades to increase the availability of electricity.

Messer studied finance in college, and Caron studied art. Both had other jobs when they started growing medical marijuana. They are the only two medical marijuana “caregivers,” or growers, at Brigid Farm. Caregiver collectives are illegal, said Messer, but two members of the same household can run a growing facility together.

In the beginning, they grew the plants from their home, but Caron said growing in a separate facility helps ensure cleanliness standards, and that there is enough designated space. The couple employ two staff members to assist at the facility, which also produces edible products for patients.

Caregivers can grow plants for five patients plus themselves. Messer takes medical marijuana for chronic pain in his lower back that he’s had since a child. Caron takes it for gastrointestinal issues, and said medical marijuana has decreased her stomach pain and allowed her to have an appetite.

The couple has found patients through word of mouth and Home Grown Maine, a medical marijuana trade show. Patients are met and given the cannabis off-site .

Plants are grown under grow lights in coconut husks and are watered every other day. Ladybugs are used as a natural pest control agent. The plants are monitored during different stages of growth and after several months are cut, dried and cured.

Both Caron and Messer are supportive of the city’s moratorium. They say because it’s such a new field, they want medical marijuana growers and cities to have the proper tools so the right decisions can be made to ensure the success of new caregiving facilities.

“It’s a learning process for everyone,” said Caron.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].