WATERLOO - Bjorn Dawson is busy.

He is the chief executive officer and cofounder of Grobo. The Waterloo startup has developed a plug-and-play cabinet loaded with technology that grows a single marijuana plant in three to four months producing up to three ounces of dried cannabis bud.

"Tonnes of customers," said Dawson. "We are filling hundreds of orders. Just trying to keep up is our biggest challenge at the moment."

Grobo raised millions of dollars from investors, and has 20 employees working out of 11,000-square-feet of space in North Waterloo.

"We are the only company in Canada that is shipping this product," said Dawson. "We are the only company in the world that is shipping this type of smart-growing system."

Users drop a seed into the supplied growth medium, fill the tank with water, turn it on and watch the plant grow under the unit's LED lights.

This is one of the few areas in tech where a Canadian startup is not facing a huge American competitor, he said.

"It is incredibly exciting," said Dawson. "We have investors from around the world."

Grobo was founded in 2014 by a pair of students from the University of Waterloo. Dawson studied mechanical engineering. His cofounder and chief technology officer Chris Thiele studied electrical engineering. They developed a quick and efficient way of growing fruits and vegetables on countertops.

Then people started asking for help in growing medical marijuana. At the same time, the federal government was moving to legalize recreational marijuana use. So in January 2016 Grobo jumped into the emerging economy for legal weed.

Beginning Wednesday, it is legal to possess and smoke marijuana for the first time in 100 years in Canada. It will also be legal for individuals to grow up to five plants.

"If we were still in fruits and vegetables, we wouldn't be here today," said Dawson. "I have no doubt this was the right move."

Each Grobo cabinet costs $1,999 US. The startup also sells the nutrients and chemicals that are used by the automated-growing cabinets. Near the loading dock are Grobo units packed in shipping boxes.

"All these units are getting ready to go out," said Dawson. "We do all the manufacturing here, and the testing."

The cabinets are made in a large room equipped with a 3D printer and a laser cutter. There are areas for assembly and others for testing.

Every system is calibrated and the sensors checked before they go out, Dawson said.

The cabinet has a surprising amount of technology. There are Wi-Fi chips, LED drivers, two integrated circuit boards, sensors and pumps.

But the system is designed to look simple and be easy to use, said Dawson. "As soon as they plug it in they will see a green light and it is ready for them to connect to Wi-Fi. To set it up they go to our app and it walks them through everything."

Users can keep a journal, post pictures and take notes. There is also an online community of Grobo users that shares information and advice.

When marijuana becomes legal Wednesday the only place to legally buy it will be online through a government website.

Among the 20 employees at Grobo is a horticulturalist. He asked Grobo for help in growing his medical marijuana. The startup listened, hired him and changed direction entirely. In a room behind the offices, next to a stack of High Times magazines, is a tent that covers several Grobo cabinets.

Inside are different strains of marijuana - White Witch and Original Amnesia - among others. The horticulturalist grows the plants before deciding if Grobo will recommend a particular strain to its customers.

"That's one of the problems, it is hard to track the lineage in cannabis. There are thousands of strains, and anybody can mix strains and try them," said Dawson. "But because there is no proper naming convention you don't know how they relate, so it is a little bit of a challenge."

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