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Yan Boissonneault’s daughter was turning blue.

Without warning, his baby had stopped breathing, and he frantically performed CPR while his friend James Gallagher called 911.

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Years later, the men still become emotional remembering that day. Boissonneault learned that his daughter had a rare disorder that caused epilepsy, and when pharmaceutical medications failed to cure her seizures, he turned to CBD oil, a non-psychoactive substance in marijuana.

“It’s been two years now and she hasn’t had a seizure,” Boissonneault said, standing next to rows of pungent marijuana plants under glowing white lights.

“That’s what got me involved in this. It’s quite personal. … The only profit it gives me is the joy of seeing my daughter smile.”

Boissonneault and Gallagher now run a handful of small legal medical grow-ops in British Columbia and are among the “craft” producers who hope to use their skills in the fledgling recreational market by getting a new licence for microcultivation.