While Australians are still arguing over recreational cannabis (us included), Ontario’s cannabis industry is hard at work. Earlier this week, it was announced that Canadian cannabis producer, WeedMD, opened an enormous new cannabis cultivation facility. And this time, it’s outside.
Although the planting of cannabis crops in Spring may seem routine, WeedMD is the first Canadian cannabis company to be licensed to grow cannabis outdoors. They will also be the first Canadian company to grow high CBD and THC strains of cannabis, as part of seven strains the brand will now offer.
As of June 10, they have already planted the first 18,000 fully-rooted crops in a 27-acre outdoor field in just outside WeedMD’s Strathroy Greenhouse. The greenhouse, which is already a sight to behold at over 610,000 square feet, is WeedMD’s second cannabis growing facility. The company also operates the Alymer cannabis production plant, which processes over 200,000 kilograms of cannabis a year.
Apparently, these expansions are just one part of WeedMD’s plans, as they are also entering the vape market. On June 22nd, their Colour Cannabis brand is launching a range of vape cartridges into the adult-use market.
In Australia, unfortunately, these products won’t reach your local vape shop anytime soon.
WeedMD’s Chief Executive Officer Angelo Tsebelis was quoted as saying:
We are now commercialising our extraction-grade, cannabinoid-rich biomass harvested indoors and outdoors into new cannabis formats starting with vapes.
Reading all this, it may seem like Australia’s cannabis industry is lagging, and it is. While recreational cannabis has (at least in theory) been legalised in Canberra, Australia’s medical cannabis industry is still dependent on cannabis exports from Canada. Currently, Canada’s cannabis industry is over four times larger than Australia’s, valued at AUD 7.31 billion.
While WeedMD’s expansion might be happening in Ontario, it will still affect us Australians, as WeedMD is an investee of MMJ Group Holdings. MMJ Group Holdings is just one of 20 large cannabis companies listed on the ASX (ASX: MMJ). WeedMD are also exporting cannabis seeds to Australian medical cannabis company Medifarm.
Hopefully, this means we’ll have a piece of the pot pie soon.