Canadian Cannabis Company Expands In Australia And Portugal

Flowr, a Canadian Licensed Producer of cannabis products, has acquired a 19.8% interest in Holigen Limited (Holigen). Flowr will provide, among other things, its cultivation, facility design and construction IP for use by Holigen in the construction of its facilities in Portugal and Australia and for obtaining its final licenses in those territories.

Significant cultivation facilities, potential low-cost production
Holigen is a European-based cannabis company in the process of developing large-scale cannabis cultivation facilities and Good Manufacturing Process (GMP) compliant production facilities that are expected to provide finished medical cannabis products, pharmaceutical ingredients, and plants and seeds to medical cannabis markets globally. Holigen is in the final stages of obtaining one of the largest cultivation licenses in the developed world for outdoor and greenhouse facilities on 72 hectares (7.8 million square feet) in Portugal. This project has been designated a Project of National Interest by the Portuguese government, which ensures special handling and prioritization by government agencies and access to low cost financing.

Benefitting from Portugal’s climate, cost-effective land and labour, and the high crop yields it expects to generate by employing Flowr’s cultivation IP, Holigen could be among the lowest cost producers in the world.

“The combination of Holigen’s strong management team and incredible assets along with our cultivation, design and construction IP will create what we believe will be a worldwide leader in production” said Tom Flow, Co-CEO of Flowr.

Licensing near completion, GMP certification expected
Holigen expects to complete its licensing process for its first site in Portugal by mid-2019 and expects to be one of the few licensed producers in Europe that will produce products in GMP-compliant facilities.

Holigen has applied for licenses to cultivate, manufacture, distribute, import and export medical cannabis and derived products at two sites. These applications were considered compliant with local regulations by the health authorities in Portugal (INFARMED). Both sites are pending inspections to complete the licensing process. Holigen anticipates licenses to be granted for site 1 by Q2 2019 and site 2 by early 2020. Its Australian facilities have already achieved GMP certifications with respect to the relabeling and release of products. As the fit-out of the facility progresses, Holigen expects to arrange further GMP inspections.

In Australia, Holigen has strong ties to the country’s largest distributor of medical cannabis and holds the following medical cannabis licenses: Cultivation, R&D and Manufacturing from the Office of Drug Control and Drug Control Section Australia (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and GMP License from the TGA. Holigen is in the process of obtaining a New South Wales Schedule 8 pharmaceutical manufacturing license, which is the remaining license it requires.

Development details
Holigen currently is developing four cultivation facilities in Portugal and Australia along with production and R&D facilities. These sites include:

• A 65 hectare (seven million square foot) outdoor cultivation site in Portugal that is expected to be partly operational in the second quarter of 2019 and fully operation in the first quarter of 2021 with potential production of more than 500,000 kg annually;

• A 294,000 square foot greenhouse facility in Portugal that is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2020 with potential production of 110,000 kg annually;

• An indoor facility in Portugal expected to begin production in mid-2019 with a potential capacity of approximately 3,500 kg annually and the potential capacity to extract up to 49 tons of dried product;

• Approximately 90,000 square feet of planned GMP-compliant production facilities integrated into the Portuguese cultivation centers; and,

• A 2.4 hectare site in Sydney suitable for cultivation and manufacturing, which includes a 3,500 square foot indoor cultivation facility with a potential capacity of over 1,000 kg annually.

“We are delighted to be working with Flowr to develop these valuable properties and licenses into one of the leading cannabis franchises in Europe and Australia,” said Pauric Duffy, Holigen’s Co-Founder. “In addition to developing the cultivation facilities, we are hard at work developing medical cannabis brands in our key markets, preparing to leverage the distribution partnerships we are forming, and evaluating alternative product lines like infused beverages.

“Flowr has the high quality, high yield growing technology and experience that we believe will quickly allow Holigen to execute on the very significant licenses we hold and are obtaining in both Portugal and Australia,” said Peter Comerford, Holigen’s Co-Founder. “With the partnerships we are developing, we believe we will be positioned perfectly within the Australian government’s ambitious strategy for significant export of medicinal cannabis announced in January. With the licenses we are obtaining, combined with Flowr’s proven cultivation technology, we believe this transaction places both companies in a unique position to act as a true medicinal cannabis multinational.”

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For more information:
Flowr
flowr.ca

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Publication date : 12/24/2018 

BREAKING NEWS: It's Time To Make Weed Legal In NY 'Once And For All,' Cuomo Says

The governor said he wants to legalize recreational pot early in his third term, but offered no details on how to do it.

By Noah Manskar, Patch Staff | Dec 17, 2018

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday named legalizing recreational marijuana among his priorities for the first 100 days of his next term, but offered no details on how to do it. The Democratic governor fully embraced legalization as a key to ending racial inequities in the criminal justice system during a wide-ranging speech in Midtown outlining an ambitious policy agenda.

"We have had two criminal justice systems: One for the wealthy and well off, and one for everyone else. And that's going to end," Cuomo said.

"We must also end the needless and unjust criminal convictions and the debilitating criminal stigma," he added. "And let's legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all."

The speech cemented a significant shift in Cuomo's position on legalizing recreational pot, a step nine other states have taken despite the drug's illegality under federal law.

The governor was opposed to legalization as recently as last year, reportedly calling it a "gateway drug." He did not mention marijuana in this year's State of the State speech in January. About two weeks later he announced a study of legalization, which concluded it would do more good than harm.

The governor's movement on the issue coincided with a primary challenge to his re-election from Cynthia Nixon, who embraced legalization early in her campaign.

Cuomo's speech left many open questions about what legalization could look like in New York. He did not say how exactly the drug would be regulated, how marijuana tax revenues would be used, or whether he will include a plan in his upcoming state budget.

Cuomo also did not directly say whether he wants to expunge the criminal records of New Yorkers with pot-related offenses, as his state Department of Health recommended this summer.

Legalizing pot was just one item on Cuomo's lengthy to-do list for the first few months of next year. In the same breath he repeated his support for ending the state's cash bail system, in which many people charged with crimes have to pay money to be freed from jail.

The governor got behind bail reform in his January State of the State speech, but legislation to change the system has gotten stalled.

"A judge should determine the individual's risk of release rather than the individual's access to wealth," Cuomo said Monday.

Also among the governor's priorities for next year are banning corporate political contributions; passing a law to make it easier for childhood sexual abuse victims to sue their abusers; and ending vacancy decontrol, a provision under which rent-stabilized apartments fall out of regulation when their rents get high enough.

He also got behind major election reforms, including automatic voter registration, early voting and making Election Day a state holiday. Officials called for some such changes after chaos unfolded at New York City polling places last month.

Much of Cuomo's agenda would not have stood a chance in Albany with Republicans still in control of the state Senate. But many proposals could become reality with Democrats in control of both houses of the Legislature come January.

"There are no more excuses, my friends," Cuomo said. "Now is the time to stand up and lead and do what you've said you were going to do all those years and make a Democratic vision a reality."

(Lead image: Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at the New York City Bar Association on Monday. Photo from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office/Flickr)

You Can't Legally Trade In Cannabis In South Africa Yet, But The dagga business is booming Anyway After Possession Was Decriminalised By The Constitutional Court

The Dagga Business Is Booming Already – Even Though Nobody Is Officially Selling Any Yet

Phillip de Wet , Business Insider SA

December 04, 2018

• You can't legally trade in cannabis in South Africa yet, but the dagga business is booming anyway after possession was decriminalised by the Constitutional Court.

• Hydroponics systems are suddenly very popular.

• A Cannabis Expo in Pretoria next week is sold out – even though it will have a strict no cannabis rule.

Next week, The Cannabis Expo will open in Menlyn, Pretoria, for three days of "industry, health, and agriculture" exhibits.

Early ticket sales, at R150 a pop, point to a visitor attendance of around 20,000 people, organiser Silas Howarth told Business Insider South Africa, double what exhibitors had been promised. And exhibition space is long sold out while a waiting list for spots that open up due cancellations continues to grow. A similar exhibition in Cape Town in April is likely to be three times the size of the Gauteng event. 

"It's been insane," says Howarth. "It's getting to the point where we're quite quickly turning away certain types of exhibitors."

Interest in the expo has been big even though the organisers have been very clear: no actual marijuana will be allowed on the premises. As best legal experts can tell it remains illegal to trade in dagga, or in seeds, following a historic Constitutional Court ruling that effectively legalised cultivation and possession in personal spaces.

Exhibition visitors are liable to be searched on entry - they may have the right to carry cannabis on their person, but the owners of private spaces can still impose restrictions.

See also: 5 things you need to know about growing dagga at home

"This is an ordinary exhibition, just like any other exhibition," where organisers could ban legal alcohol or guns, says Howarth. "That is what people in the industry have been fighting for, for cannabis to be treated like anything else."

Many industry players are playing their cards very close to their chests as they prepare for what is expected to be a flood of business following full legalisation of dagga. Even so, it is clear that a great deal of frantic preparation is underway.

Several organisations at the Cannabis Expo will be seeking investors to fund rapid expansion and one, the White Lion Seed Company, will be launching a brand for a company that can not yet sell its primary wares, cannabis seeds.

Specialist fertiliser companies are gearing up, consultants are offering advice, legal firms are positioning themselves as experts, and even packaging-design companies are putting themselves in line for business that is already trickling in, ahead of an expected flood.

One headline exhibitor, Cape Town based Hydroponic.co.za business has been selling home hobbyists equipment to grow better vegetables since 1994. It is just hiring another staffer, after adding two new employees recently.

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"We don't know what people are using it for," Megan Hinde, manager for the shop with a strong online presence, told Business Insider South Africa. "We don't ask."

But equipment is certainly flying off the shelves, more so than seems likely to have been caused by the breaking of the Western Cape drought and an uptick in interest in hydroponic vegetables.

See also: Smoking dagga is being decriminalised, but you can still be fired for it – maybe

"People often phone and ask advice, but even then sometimes you don't know what they are growing; tomatoes grow very similarly to cannabis plants," she says. "If lighting is involved it is a little bit it of a clue, but people also want to grow vegetables all year round."

Hydroponics suppliers that would not speak on the record about their current trade or plans hinted at everything from massive import orders to local manufacturing.

Marijuana Is Now Legal In Michigan – What You Need To Know

December 3, 2018

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) - On December 6, Michigan became the first state in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana.

Retail shops aren't expected to open until sometime in 2020, but beginning Thursday, people 21 and older can buy or possess marijuana in the state.  

You can have up to 12 plants inside your home, and a total of 10 oz.

According to Barton Morris with the Cannabis Legal group, whatever you grow on those 12 plants is all yours. However, you need to keep anything over 2.5 ounces in your home locked up.  

So how do you get seeds if you’re thinking about growing plants?

"Seeds are readily available. You can use the internet to do a search and find them pretty much anywhere," Grant Gamalski with Northern Lights Hydroponics and Garden Supply said.

"Instagram is becoming a great resource for getting seeds.  Breeders can sell directly from them to the end user, which cuts the seed bank out of the mix and saves the consumer some money," Gamalski said. 

Keep in mind attorney Barton Morris says it’s technically illegal to purchase seeds.

As for business, Grant says they’ve seen an increase with the legalization date just days away.

"We’re trying to up the consciousness of all humanity, as far as I’m concerned it’s a good thing," Gamalski said.

Remember when marijuana officially becomes legal, you can’t smoke in public places. If you're caught, you could face a fine. 

Canadian Cannabis Growing Facility Binding Agreement Signed

Key Points:

• THC Global’s wholly owned subsidiary, Vertical Canna Inc has signed a binding due diligence agreement for the build out of a Canadian licenced cannabis producer

• Acquisition remains subject to due diligence and finalisation of terms • On acquisition, and subject to finalisation of licencing, THC Global will own a full-scale cannabis growing facility in Canada in addition to its Australian facilities

• Targeting the Canadian medicinal and recreational cannabis markets with direct sales

THC Global Group Limited (THC Global or the Company) (ASX: THC) advises that its wholly owned subsidiary, Vertical Canna Inc has entered into a binding agreement to conduct due diligence for the acquisition of a Canadian company which is in final stages of becoming a Licenced Producer of Cannabis.

On acquisition, THC Global will complete the build out of a full-scale cannabis growing facility which will be able to offer direct retail sales in addition to supporting other commercial sales. THC Global is also in negotiations to engage specialist personnel in the Cannabis sector to support this build out.

THC Global’s objective is for Vertical Canna to pursue a build out of a vertically integrated cannabis business across North America through strategic acquisitions and partnerships with a focus on short paths to profitability with strong potential for value development. In parallel to this strategy, Vertical Canna is currently developing a new retail cannabis and equipment brand which will soon be available across stores in Canada.

The pursuit of a stronger presence in Canada is in response to positive feedback received from the Canadian capital markets and the broader cannabis sector towards THC Global as a high-growth cannabis business with the capacity to produce large quantities of pharma-grade product in the near term.

Chief Executive Officer, Ken Charteris, commented: “THC Global is looking at entering new international markets to further cement its presence as a full-scale global cannabis producer. Canada is a logical next step in the Company’s global expansion plans given our existing Canadian presence with Crystal Mountain Products. Our focus in identifying new global opportunities will be to seek acquisition assets and strategic partnerships that lead to near term revenue generation.

“Further, the opportunity to enter the retail sector in Canada in the coming months is very attractive and will offer deep synergies with our Crystal Mountain Products business and may lead to future supply opportunities from our existing Australian production facilities.”

For further information, please contact:

Ken Charteris

Chief Executive Officer

Henry Kinstlinger

Company Secretary

THC Global Group Limited Level 2, 131 Macquarie Street Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia

P: +61 2 9251 7177 E: henry.kinstlinger@thcl.com.au E: ken.charteris@thcl.com.au

Michael Lovesey

Director Corporate Media Relations

MMR Corporate Services Pty Ltd Level 2, 131 Macquarie Street Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia

P: +61 2 9251 7177 M: +61 449 607 636 E: michaell@mmrcorporate.com

THC Global Group Limited (ASX: THC)

THC Global operates under a ‘Farm to Pharma’ pharmaceutical model and is currently delivering high quality medicinal cannabis products to Australian patients through existing access schemes. Having secured both a significant growing capacity over two grow sites, and an industry-leading pharmaceuticals biomanufacturing facility with attached testing and product development laboratory, THC Global is in prime position to service both domestic patients and the export market. THC Global’s commercial partners operate across four continents, supporting future international growth. In addition to its core medicinal cannabis business, THC Global owns two Canadian companies, being Crystal Mountain Products and Vertical Canna Inc. Crystal Mountain Products operates a revenue generating global hydroponics retailer and distributor of equipment, material, and nutrients to cannabis growers and producers. Vertical Canna Inc is an investment vehicle through which THC Global intends to build, through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, a vertically integrated Canadian cannabis producer and retailer.

The Importance of Daily Light Integral (DLI) For Indoor Cannabis Cultivation

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Daily light integral (DLI), represents the number of photosynthetically active photons that are delivered to a given space over the course of a day. Considering not all wavelengths of light can be utilized by plants, it’s important to distinguish between PAR light and visible light. PAR stands for photosynthetic active radiation and represents the area within the visible light spectrum that drives photosynthesis (400 – 700 nm).

This range in the visible light spectrum is also known as the quantum response area. PAR light is typically measured as PPFD, photosynthetic photon flux density. PPFD measures the precise number of photons that are delivered to one square meter in a given second. Quantum sensors are used to measure PAR light. They help growers calculate the daily light integral, the most accurate measurement for horticultural lighting.

Factors that can affect DLI are geographic location, weather and season. These variables cannot be controlled in an outdoor environment. Indoor horticulture allows for control of these metrics and consistency throughout a grow cycle. Light, temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations are the three factors that affect the rate of photosynthesis. An increased rate of photosynthesis promotes root development, plant growth and overall biomass production.

Many studies have shown that dialing in DLI values for specific crops can lead to increased flower number, larger biomass and decreased growth cycles. Various crop species require different DLI values for optimal growth. Plants also require different DLI values during various points in their life cycle. For instance, fruits and vegetables require DLIs ranging from 14-40 mol m-2d-2. Meanwhile, cannabis requires a much higher DLI. Large cannabis plants need about 65 mol m-2d-2 during their flower cycle. Sea of green grown cannabis requires about 48 mol m-2d-2 during flower. The sea of green growing method focuses on cultivating a large quantity of small plants, typically grown in vertical racking systems. Traditionally, growers cultivated a small number of large plants.

Read more at Smart Grow Systems

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Publication date : 12/3/2018 

Marlboro Parent Company Makes $1.8 Billion Bet On Cannabis

12/07/2018

Graham Abbott

Altria Group Inc. announced today the world’s first “Big Tobacco” investment into the cannabis space: a whopping $1.8 billion for Canadian LP Cronos Group, CNN reports.

Altria — the parent company behind Phillip Morris USA and Marlboro cigarettes — will have a 45 percent stake in Cronos following the investment, with the option for increasing its share to 55 percent over the next five years.

News about the potential investment first broke earlier this week.

“Altria is the ideal partner for Cronos Group, providing the resources and expertise we need to meaningfully accelerate our strategic growth.” — Cronos Group Chairman, President, and CEO Mike Gorenstein, in a press release

Altria has seen its stocks consistently drop in recent years as the popularity of cigarettes and tobacco and general has diminished.

“Investing in Cronos Group as our exclusive partner in the emerging global cannabis category represents an exciting new growth opportunity for Altria,” Altria Chairman and CEO Howard Willard said in a statement. “We believe that Cronos Group’s excellent management team has built capabilities necessary to compete globally, and we look forward to helping Cronos Group realize its significant growth potential.”

Altria stock had fallen 25 percent so far, this year — however, following its cannabis announcement, the major tobacco firm’s shares saw a 2 percent rise in early trading on Friday. Meanwhile, Cronos shares had soared some 30 percent.

“Importantly, Altria shares our vision of driving long-term value through innovation, and we look forward to continuing to differentiate in this area,” said Cronos CEO Mike Gorenstein. “As one of the largest holding companies in the adult consumer products sector, Altria has decades of experience in regulatory, government affairs, compliance, product development, and brand management that we expect to leverage, particularly as new markets for cannabis open around the world.”

The $1.8 billion investment — about C$2.4 billion — is the industry’s first “Big Tobacco” investment, but several major alcohol companies have already injected money into the cannabis space. Constellation Brands, the brewer of Corona beer and a major North American distributor for Svedka vodka, invested $4 billion into Canada’s Canopy Growth earlier this year. It remains the largest investment into the cannabis space, so far.

Coca-Cola Inc. was also in talks briefly about launching a CBD product line in Canada but the potential deal reportedly stalled shortly after it was revealed.

Lead photo: Sarah Johnson

Why the Future of Marijuana Farming Could be Craft Weed

By Angela Chen@chengela  Nov 21, 2018, 10:29am EST

There are plenty of predictions about how cannabis farming is poised to go corporate, but Big Marijuana is not inevitable, says Ryan Stoa, a professor of law at Concordia University.

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen. But Stoa, the author of Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, argues that in a world where cannabis is legal, there is a route for cannabis agriculture to stay sustainable and local.

The idea for Craft Weed began when Stoa started hearing about water conflict in Northern California, specifically around marijuana agriculture. Before, the state government had been going after marijuana growers just for growing. But now, they are targeting them for issues related to water rights. “Cannabis, as an industry, is evolving so quickly,” says Stoa, “How do you manage a water rights system when the users are in this legal gray area?” Once he started looking into these issues, Stoa found that marijuana farming is largely unregulated, which means that there’s a lot of confusion and a lot of potential for policymakers to shape marijuana agriculture into the industry they want.

The Verge spoke to Stoa about what’s fending off a corporate takeover, potential legal regulations that could help the industry remain small, and the environmental impact of farming.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

In the beginning of the book, you mention this Big Marijuana prophecy about how conglomerates are sure to take over. Where are we hearing this, and why is it inevitable?

With legalization comes a lot of hype about big marijuana and about marijuana changing from the black market where there’s a lot of mom-and-pop small-scale farming, at least in the United States, to one in which the industry will be dominated by one or two really large corporations, the way Philip Morris and Monsanto do. You hear this prophecy when it comes to fears about opening up the industry or from cannabis startups saying they want to be “the Starbucks of weed.” But something different is possible.

I’m not trying to say that Big Marijuana will never come to pass or there won’t be corporate involvement in the cannabis industry. Corporate involvement in cannabis is inevitable. I just don’t think it has to be a complete and total takeover. Just like in the beer market, you have the microbrews living alongside a thriving and growing craft beer market. There are a few big-picture reasons why I think that might be the case.

Why is that?

One is that the cannabis plant is capable of a remarkable amount of genetic variation. We think of it as one generic product, but that’s not the case. There have been incredible amounts of different cannabis plants, and each strain may have different characteristics for the consumer, each strain requires its own care-taking method for the farmer. That fact will make it harder for Big Marijuana to come to pass.

I think the simplistic vision for the takeover is that this 20,000-acre farm will produce marijuana so cheaply that it’ll flood the market with this generic product and run small-scale farmers out of business. But that’s hard to do if there isn’t a generic product in the first place, and the market is more differentiated.

Second, there’s a lot of interest among both the marijuana farming community and the consumer base to see locally made or locally produced artisanal products. On the regulator size, states have a role to play. You already see states like California putting a cap or limit on the size of marijuana farms, essentially saying, “If we’re going to legalize this industry, we want to spread the benefits to as many people as possible.” Other states are capable of replicating that model.

What other regulatory protections might help?

Another one is using an appellation system that will essentially mirror the ones we have for wine. So when we drink a bottle that says “Napa,” you can be confident it came from Napa, and Napa producers are protected because others can’t take advantage of their reputation by falsely claiming that it’s coming from them. You could see the same with cannabis.

If appellation were adopted, different regions could have their own products, which, again, makes it harder to take over the industry and produce a single one. Certainly, some will want the cheapest marijuana, but as the market matures, you’ll see a connoisseur consumer market emerge more than already so. There are a lot of reasons to think a craft weed model is possible.

Right now, in California, it was estimated that there are about 50,000 marijuana farms. (And, for the sake of comparison, there are 3,000 wineries.) We’re still dominated by small-scale family farmers. A lot of estimates on the black or gray market activity are pretty fuzzy, but it’s already the status quo. So it’s not a matter of trying to create a family-farming model out of nowhere but of trying to preserve the rural development already taking place.

What effect would federal legalization have?

One of the interesting effects of federal prohibition is that it prevents any interstate commerce from taking place. So anytime a state legalizes marijuana, it needs to produce marijuana in state, and that’s requiring them to, in essence, create local industries of marijuana producers. In a way, the federal prohibitions alongside state legalization are giving smaller-scale producers a leg up. Once you have prohibition, you’re going to have across-the-country procedures in many different states.

With federal approval, you could finally have marijuana farming certified as organic. Right now, the US Department of Agriculture regulates the term “organic,” and since marijuana is illegal federally, states are not able to certify that. The organic marijuana market right now is a bit hazy, with lots of products billed as organic marijuana that are really far from that.

We’ve been talking about law, but what about the environmental issues of cannabis farming?

Photo: Ryan Stoa

I wrote a whole chapter on the debate between indoor and outdoor farming and power use, which are two closely related issues. Both indoor and outdoor farming have significant environmental impacts and implications. For outdoor farms, you’re taking advantage of natural sunlight and soil, but you need water diversions, so you have to look at what type of water rights system you’re using and then the runoff. Are you using pesticides? Are they safe? Are they certified? Can you make sure you’re not running off into streams and damaging the ecosystem, wildlife, and downstream water users?

For indoor farmers, it’s a little different. They don’t have as many water issues, but they do have significant energy concerns. Indoor farms consume an incredible amount of electricity. There’s a third model — mixed-light or greenhouse growing — which has a little bit of the pros and cons of indoor and outdoor.

One interesting issue facing the marijuana farming industry is which of these models is going to dominate. States like Colorado are largely adopting indoor, and California is largely adopting outdoor growing, but both models are going to have to face environmental consequences. Marijuana is just like every other crop: you need to comply with all of the other regulations. But since marijuana is such a unique industry and such a unique crop, it may not be time to regulate like every other agricultural product. So that means a lot of effort and thought.

How is marijuana not like any other crop?

Marijuana farming remains pretty labor-intensive and relatively specialized. A lot of it requires intense hours and significant skill sets. Plus, the popularity of the strains really fluctuates, and the high level of care and uniqueness really differentiates it.

Plus, it has such a unique historical context. Cannabis was grown extensively in the US in the form of hemp, but the psychoactive marijuana farming side of the industry as we know it grew up on the black market. It’s difficult to usher a black market industry into a regulatory system designed to address corn or wheat.

Altria In Talks To Buy Cannabis Company Cronos Group

Lauren Hirsch

December 3, 2018 CNBC.com

• Marlboro cigarette maker Altria is in early talks to acquire Canadian cannabis producer Cronos, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.

• Cronos has not agreed to any deal and there is no certainty it will do so, the person added.

Marlboro cigarette maker Altria is in early stage talks to acquire Canadian cannabis producer Cronos, as it seeks to diversify its business beyond traditional smokers, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Cronos has not agreed to any deal and there is no certainty it will do so, the people said.

The news comes as Altria is also eyeing a significant minority stake in e-cigarette company Juul, people familiar with the situation have told CNBC.

The people asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Altria did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Cronos declined to comment.

Reuters first reported the talks between Altria and Cronos.

The deal talks come as the tobacco industry is under pressure. Cigarette sales have declined as older smokers are dying and fewer young people are starting to smoke. Last year, cigarette smoking in the U.S. fell to its lowest point in recorded history, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the same time, both the cannabis and e-cigarette industries are growing.

Counting both legal and black market sales, the total demand for pot is approximately $52.5 billion, Marijuana Business Daily has reported. The e-cigarette market meantime, is projected to hit $6.6 billion in the U.S. this year, according to Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog.

Correction: This article has been updated to state that the e-cigarette industry is growing.

What Do GMP And GACP Certifications Mean For The Cannabis Industry?

As the world is rapidly opening up to cannabis, growers interested in cultivating it can choose between the two markets to serve: recreational or medicinal. Recreational market caters to customers interested in consuming cannabis and its derivatives for relaxation, for pleasure, out of curiosity etc. Medicinal market, on the other hand targets treating various diseases which range from chronic pain to alleviating side-effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients. Using cannabis in medicine means its cultivation must abide strict quality standards such as the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and the GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practices), either already or in the near future.

These outline minimum requirements for growers so that they create high quality, consistent products which will later pass authorization by agencies that are in charge of licensing the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products. The requirements of GMP concern handling of the products, cleaning of the machinery used to make it, packaging, quality assurance etc. while the GACP requirements outline guidelines for cultivation practices more specifically. For the end-user of the product, these guarantee that it was produced in a sterile, safe environment, that the product is always the same, regardless of the production batch and that it is essentially safe for consumption.

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Is GMP Certification required for the cannabis industry?
It is not yet enforced in all countries where cannabis cultivation is legal but it seems that it will become the norm. This is due to the fact that cannabis is considered a drug and thus must abide the same regulations that govern the pharmaceutical industry, GMP certification being one of them. Even if not yet enforced, it might be the reason for some lost sales i.e. a way to differentiate one’s product offering and position it as superior to the non-GMP produced cannabis and it’s derivatives.

What does GMP mean in technical terms?
Below is a brief summary of the requirements of GMP. For the complete resources please click the link at the end of this document.

Staff
The staff of the cultivation facility should be adequately educated for the jobs they are performing as well as trained in the GMP requirements. The number of people interacting with the product should be reduced to the needed minimum, their performance should be reviewed periodically and a record of training is to be kept outlining that all needed trainings have been covered, especially when it comes to staff that handles toxic, highly active, infectious or sensitizing materials.

Equipment
Equipment used to produce cannabis such as benches, lighting, irrigation systems, HVAC systems, containers for harvested product etc:

• should be made of materials that can withstand sterilization by various chemicals

• should not have cervices that can easily collect dust, pathogens and other substances which could contaminate the product

• should have moving parts such as transmission gears, moving chains and fans enclosed or completely covered

• should not be made from materials prone to releasing particles

• should be made from non-toxic, corrosion resistant and non-reactive materials, if they come in contact with the product

• should ideally be high quality equipment that is not prone to malfunctions. If the equipment needs to be fixed, the use of temporary solutions such as tape should be avoided. Maintenance records are to be kept for all the machinery.

• should be designed to facilitate easy cleaning as well as visual inspection for potential problem areas

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Sterilization
A sanitation program is to be developed which will be available to all staff members involved in the handling of the product. The sanitation program outlines the frequency and methodology of cleaning and it is part of the grow’s SOPs (standard operating procedures). The cleaning should disinfect the production areas and the equipment. All the residues of the cleaning substances are to be removed thoroughly and a record of sanitation is to be kept which can clearly demonstrate the sanitation practices at the grow.

Cannabis Lighting and GMP Compliance
All the regulation regarding equipment explained above refers to the lighting supplier of a cannabis grow. In essence it means that luminaires need to:

• be easily cleanable

• made from non-toxic materials

• the spectrum must of be of high quality so that yields and cannabinoid profiles are consistent

• the luminaires must be of high quality so that their light output does not decay quickly and dramatically, affecting the yields. This also concerns the wavelength distribution of the spectrum i.e. the spectrum must remain without significant changes throughout the luminaires’ life so as to ensure consistent yields and cannabinoid expressions.

This disqualifies HPS lamps from being used in GMP / GACP compliant cannabis grows. Their light loses intensity rapidly creating differences among growth cycles. Overall, HPS lamps create poor light uniformity resulting in varied crop. In the case of the bulb inside the HPS lamp breaking, the entire room would be compromised as the sodium and mercury which constitute the bulb interior would get dispersed all over the canopy.

When it comes to LED technology, things are not any simpler. Most LED luminaires have deep fins which are used as a heat dissipation tool. While good at removing excess heat the lamps produce and directing it upwards and away from the plant, these are very difficult to clean. One would need a special set of tools and a great deal of time to get inside the ridges and remove the dust particles and pathogens from within. Even after that it would be hard to be absolutely sure that these have been properly sterilized. On the other hand, LED luminaires with active cooling such as fans, create other challenges. Naturally, fans cannot be completely enclosed as they need to circulate air. This means having a device that is even more difficult to clean than a passively cooled LED i.e. one with deep fins.

Furthermore, the quality of spectra inside LED luminaires, while better than HPS, vary significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer. With some manufacturers parts of the spectrum will start to diminish already after 10000 hours of operation, starting with the blue peak and other shorter wavelengths resulting in taller plants with less cannabinoid accumulation (similar to HPS grown plants). This is dependent on the quality of the LED chips the manufacturer uses. The best quality chips will sustain the same spectrum quality with minimal variation over its entire lifespan.

Additionally, in multitier grows, LED luminaires are often placed really close to the canopy. While a great strategy to minimize the loss of precious photons, it can easily happen that the plant has contact with the lamp. In that case we have to be sure that the lamp is made from non-toxic materials.

How to Select a Lighting Manufacturer for a GMP Compliant Grow?

Tip 1 – Look at the form factor
If the lamp is mostly smooth and appears to be sealed shut it means you will be able to take a sterilization chemical soaked cloth and sterilize the luminaire in one swipe. If it has fins and other kinds of deep crevices you will need much more time and in some cases it will simply be impossible to do it to the GMP standard.

Tip 2 – Ask the manufacturer which chemicals their luminaires can be cleaned with
Some materials that make up an LED luminaire such as silicone, cannot withstand all cleaning chemicals. Ask the manufacturer if they have awareness of how all the components their product is made from react to typically used cleaning chemicals.

Tip 3 – Ask the manufacturer for a spectrum decay analysis
In an ocean of LED companies which seems to be getting bigger it is hard to make sense of the differences between the companies. Ask your lighting supplier for a quality guarantee of their spectrum outlining the permitted variations in it over time and across production batches. If they do not have it, chances are they have not thought about it. Do no settle for the industry standard ’50 000’ hours of operation claim as this one is typically copied from component suppliers or simply taken as a standard for LED chips without any data to back it up. Depending on the quality of the LED chips they use some will deteriorate faster than others. A good manufacturer conducts ‘light decay’ tests and can show you data on how the spectrum actually looks after 10 000, 20 000 etc hours of operation. Minimal variation over time is inevitable and will still result in consistent yields and cannabinoid profiles. You will however find that most manufacturers simply do not have this data on their luminaires. Choose the ones that do.

Tip 4 – Check if they have sold to other GMP compliant facilities
Ask your lighting manufacturer for references of other GMP compliant grows they have sold to. It does not necessarily need to be a cannabis grow. If your lighting supplier has earlier worked with the pharmaceutical industry or high level academic research, chances are they had to carefully develop their product keeping all GMP requirements in mind.

What About GACP and the Cannabis Industry?
GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practices) is a set of guidelines covering areas of cultivation (from seeds and propagation material), collection, harvest, processing, packaging, personnel, equipment, documentation and others for the sake of satisfying the minimum required quality assurance in plant cultivation. Together with GMP these guidelines completely define the entire process from seed to sale of all plants with Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to which cannabis belongs to.

In simple terms GACP states that the personnel should be adequately trained, that cultivated plants should be grown observing all local regulations on fertilizing, storage, handling, packaging etc and that the whole process should be transparent and documented. The ultimate goal is bringing a product to the market that is consistent and safe for consumption.

Cannabis is considered a medicinal plant regardless whether cultivated for recreational or pharmaceutical use. Because of this growers should abide both the GMP and GACP guidelines even if they are not yet enforced in the territory where they have their operations. Before it becomes enforced it will be a unique selling point for growers who choose to follow all these guidelines and once it does become enforced, those who got an early start will be less prone to mistakes that could render their product useless in the market or even worse result in health complications of the end users and an inevitable PR crisis and brand image deterioration.

To learn more about GMP, please go to: ISPE (International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering) GMP Resources

To learn more about GACP, please go to: WHO (World Health Organization) Guidelines on Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) for Medicinal Plants

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Valoya Oy, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
sales@valoya.com
www.valoya.com

US: Cannabis Takes Root On California’s Central Coast

It is the fall harvest here in this fertile stretch of oaks and hills that produces some of the country’s best wine. This season, though, workers also are plucking the sticky, fragrant flowers of a new crop.

Marijuana is emerging among the vineyards, not as a rival to the valley’s grapes but as a high-value commodity that could help reinvigorate a fading agricultural tradition along the state’s Central Coast. Brushed by ocean breeze, cannabis has taken root, offering promise and prompting the age-old question of whether there can be too much of a good thing.

Cannabis has been fully legal in California for less than a year, and no place is generating more interest in it than the stretch of coast from Monterey to here in Santa Barbara County, where farmers now hold more marijuana cultivation licenses than in any other county.

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The shift in legal cultivation patterns is coming at the expense of the remote Emerald Triangle, the trio of far-northern California counties where an illegal marijuana industry has thrived for decades. The Central Coast is not growing more marijuana than the Emerald Triangle, but it could be on track to grow more legally, if trends hold.

“We’re nearly right in between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the two big consumer hubs,” said John De Friel, whose 17-acre Raw Garden Farm and seed lab sits among cabbage patches and wineries. “We really didn’t foresee how advantageous that would turn out to be.”

Read more at The Denver Post

Publication date : 11/16/2018 

Vigilance The Watchword For Pot Users, Investors, Executives At Canada-U.S. Border

Vigilance The Watchword For Pot Users, Investors, Executives At Canada-U.S. Border

CTV News Channel: Breaking down border, pot woes

Immigration lawyer Len Saunders says the U.S. has only recently begun enforcing immigration laws against Canadians involved with marijuana.

CTV National News: Canadian investors in U.S.

Canadian investors who want to cash-in on legalized marijuana may run into roadblocks when travelling to the U.S. Glen McGregor reports.

B.C. man banned from U.S. over pot investments

A B.C. venture capitalist says he was denied entry to the U.S. because of his investments in legal pot companies.

James McCarten, The Canadian Press
November 20, 2018
WASHINGTON

American officials can't yet say for sure if there's been any change in the number of people being turned away at the Canada-U.S. border for using marijuana or working or investing in the legal cannabis industry.

But Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Stephanie Malin says anecdotally, there has been no significant change in the numbers or in the agency's operations in screening people seeking to enter the United States.

Marin says the agency expects to be able to release more detailed statistics early next month.

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• Early data suggests no spike in pot-impaired driving after legalization: police

• Uncertainty looms over Canada's cannabis tourism

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• Why investing in pot could pose problems at the U.S. border

Immigration lawyers on both sides of the border, however, are already dealing with cases of people facing a lifetime ban from the U.S. and say the problem is only going to get worse without a change in American federal law.

With cannabis legal in Canada and more U.S. states easing their own restrictions -- notably Michigan, home to the busiest northern border crossing on the continent -- they warn that a U.S. federal prohibition on pot means Canadians face an escalating risk of problems at the border.

U.S. border authorities say anyone who admits to having used marijuana prior to Oct. 17, the day it became legal in Canada, could be barred from the country, as well as investors and industry employees who try to cross for cannabis-related reasons.

"The bigger issue is people thinking the slate has been wiped clean," said Henry Chang, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer who has spent the last several months warning Canadians about the dangers.

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Dasi Menakadasi holds a handful of dried marijuana flowers on the day recreational cannabis became legal, in Vancouver, on Wednesday October 17, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

"I think we're going to start seeing more people getting banned, not because of them smoking marijuana after Oct. 17, but just because they think they have nothing to hide and they blurt out that they smoked marijuana when they were 18."

Even in the case of legal cannabis use, U.S. law can still keep out anyone deemed to be a drug abuser or addict, or who is diagnosed with a mental disorder with a history of related harmful behaviour -- including alcoholism or consuming pot, said Chang.

Customs and Border Protection initially warned that any Canadian who gave off a whiff of pot involvement -- from using the drug to working or investing in the industry --risked being banned or denied entry. The agency later softened that stance, saying industry workers would generally be deemed admissible so long as they were travelling for reasons unrelated to their work.

At least one would-be traveller was intercepted last week in Vancouver and is now barred from the U.S., because he wanted to tour a Vegas-based cannabis production facility in which he'd recently become an investor, said Len Saunders, a Canadian lawyer based in Blaine, Wash., who specializes in U.S. immigration law.

"He's kind of shellshocked right now," Saunders said in an interview. "He said, 'I didn't know anything about this.' I said, 'Haven't you been reading the news?"'

The investor's visit, part of a tour arranged by his financial adviser, happened to coincide with MJBizCon, a major cannabis industry conference that took place last week in Las Vegas. A number of travellers who were bound for that conference found themselves pulled aside for secondary screening.

The man told border officials that he has never used marijuana, was merely an investor and never would have tried to travel had he known the risk, Saunders said. Border authorities had been notified about the Vegas conference and told to be on the lookout, the lawyer added.

Saunders said he has been helping Canadians navigate the border ever since the state of Washington legalized cannabis in 2012, a policy change that touched off a flood of cross-border shoppers that continues to this day, based on the number of B.C. licence plates he sees in the parking lot of U.S. marijuana shops on his way to work.

"Despite all the warnings I've been giving for months and months and years and years and years, it's still happening and this will continue to happen until there is a harmonization of federal and state laws in this country," he said. "Otherwise, you're going to see it happening forever -- and the only one who benefits is me."

Chang has some common-sense advice for anyone who might have reason to be anxious entering the U.S.

"Don't dress like a hippie, don't smell like marijuana, because then the questions get asked," he said.

"If you are asked the question, your only option is to refuse to answer, say it's irrelevant, you refuse to answer. You'll get into trouble, they'll detain you, you'll get sent back to Canada, but at least you don't have anything on the record saying you engaged in controlled-substance use."

Mums To Marijuana: Pequannock, New Jersey, Family Farm Applies For License To Grow Medical Pot

Jai Agnish, North Jersey Record

2018

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(Photo: Jai Agnish/Northjersey.com)

Ken VandeVrede, of Gro-Rite Garden Center & Florist and CEO of Hillview Med in Pequannock discusses applying for license to farm medical marijuana. Jai Agnish, Staff Writer, @jaiagnish

Fifty years ago the VanderVrede family delivered tomatoes from the farm in Pequannock to customers in Paterson. If the state allows, the family may soon replace the tomatoes with medical marijuana.

Gro-Rite Garden Center & Florist has applied for one of six available state licenses to grow medical marijuana on its 150 acres of farmland in Pequannock and Belvidere under the name Hillview Med. 

"It's very competitive," said Ken VandeVrede, the CEO of Hillview Med in Pequannock.

The farming family is among 147 statewide applicants, 49 in North Jersey, including Evergreen Cultivation in West Milford, who want to cultivate, process, and sell medical marijuana. Two licenses will be awarded in North Jersey, two in Central Jersey and two in South Jersey. There are currently six active state licences in circulation.

The family sees the connection to Paterson as a natural one, VanderVrede said, after all that is where his grandfather started off delivering his tomatoes in the early days of the business after immigrating from Holland.

The New Jersey Board of Health is expected to announce which applicants will receive a license on Nov. 1. 

"It would be absolutely amazing," VanderVrede said of landing one of the coveted licenses. "For us to get in on the ground floor of the medical cannabis market in New Jersey would be amazing."

Why medical marijuana?

The Hillview Med proposal results from Gov. Phil Murphy’s early-summer move to double the state’s marijuana providers to meet growing demand. With more than 28,000 registered patients by early July, the state program is on track to double its numbers in 2018, state records show.

"We consider this as the next evolving space in the  agriculture space," VandeVrede said.

Hillview Med is also trying to be ready if recreational marijuana is legalized in the state, VanderVrede said. A bill to create a legal marijuana marketplace in New Jersey is nearly complete.

Based on what's happened in other states, medical marijuana growers will likely be grandfathered in and have a foot in the door to grow legal recreational marijuana, VandeVrede said.

The distinction between medicinal versus recreational use marijuana is determined at the consumer end, VanderVrede explained. It's just taxed differently.

"We feel we have a very, very strong application," VandeVrede said.

The move from growing mums to marijuana could be made in seven months, he said.

Gro-Rite ships hundreds of thousands of plants and flowers on a weekly basis to supermarkets including ShopRite, Whole foods, and others in a number of states including Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Among the products are hydroponic basil, which is grown in state-of-the-art greenhouses. The company has 750,000 square feet of greenhouse space on the two farms and is permitted to build  2.2 million square feet more. That's the equivalent of 13 football fields with the potential for 38 more, he said.

"We can expand quickly," VandeVrede said. 

The other plus, the CEO said, is the farm can get an affordable product to market. 

Hillview Med can produce a pound of marijuana for under $400, VanderVrete said on Thursday. He said applicants who plan to open a warehouse and use electricity will find it difficult to get below $1,000 a pound.

"The lowest cost producers are the ones with high-tech greenhouses," he said. 

These are computer- and sensor-based systems to control temperature, humidity, and water metrics. Also, the use of a sealed, closed-loop temperature system avoids having to vent out stinky marijuana odors during production. 

"I don't have many neighbors but I wouldn't even want to go there," VandeVrede said.

In addition to sustainably cultivated agriculture products, Gro-Rite's food and herb lines are certified organic. This approach would carry over to marijuana even though VanderVrede said certified organic cannabis is not a thing yet. 

"We know how to grow food at the highest level that there is, so for us to move into the cannabis  space, this is automatic production that we do already," he said.

It's a vertical integration license meaning Hillview Med would grow the plant, extract it into oils, edibles, pills, vapes, and distribute products to dispensaries. 

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Ken VandeVrede, of Gro-Rite Garden Center & Florist, and CEO of Hillview Med in Pequannock. (Photo: Courtesy of Ken VandeVrede)

Why the Paterson market?

Hillview Med chose Paterson for several reasons, one being the family's history of delivering produce to the "Silk City" going back 50 years. More recently Gro-Rite has provided fresh produce to food banks there and has forged relationships with community groups. He said the company would hire Paterson residents to work in the dispensary.

"We've done a lot of exciting stuff in Paterson," he said.

Another reason is the diversity of the city's population. Having a marijuana dispensary in an urban city helps fulfill the licensing goal to promote inclusivity with minorities, VandeVrede said. 

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Hillview Med/Gro-Rite Garden Center & Florist in Pequannock applied for a license to grow and distribute medical marijuana. (Photo: Jai Agnish/Northjersey.com)

Gro-Rite's expansion into the cannabis market would be a remarkable change for the family, said VandeVrede during a recent tour of the farm. He reminisced about when he worked on the Pequannock farm as a child. His father was in charge then and he expanded to farm into Belvidere. 

VandeVrede, a non-active private pilot, said it would be fun to one day fly a helicopter from nearby Lincoln Park Airport to the grass strip at the Belvidere farm. Such a costly flight may not  be so out of reach if his company secures one of the lucrative medical marijuana farming licenses.

Staff writer David M. Zimmer contributed to this article.

Follow Jai Agnish on Twitter: @JaiAgnish. Email: agnish@northjersey.com.

We Visited The Small Town In Colombia That Will Supply The World With Weed

Colombia’s climate and farming industry perfectly position it to dominate the global cannabis market.

ROB HOFFMAN 2018

Photo by Naotomo Umewaka/HERB

It was the rainy season in Colombia, and as we left the buzzing city center of Medellín for the hills of Rionegro, the smoke from thousands of motorcycles and transport trucks yielded to a low hanging mountain fog. Outside the car window was a collage of green, brown and blue “fincas”—Colombian cottage-style homes—scattered over the Andes mountain range. But the elaborate displays of carnations, orchids, and chrysanthemums that decorated these fincas soon disappeared, too. In their place: nearly 3 million square feet of cannabis plants, organized in neat rows beneath white greenhouses that stretch to the horizon.

A few minutes later, guards checked our papers, made us sign some legal documents, and then opened the gates to PharmaCielo’s growing facility—the largest legally operating cannabis farm in Latin America and home to the first legal cannabis plants in the country.

The joint Canadian-Colombian company, PharmaCielo, was the first company to obtain licenses to legally cultivate medical cannabis in Colombia after it was legalized in 2016. Their facility in Rionegro, Antioquia is the beginning of what could become a multibillion-dollar industry. To put this into perspective, legal cannabis could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined.

Colombia’s climate and geography give it an advantage over just about every other medical cannabis producing country in the world. As one of 13 countries located directly on the equatorial line, the sun rises and sets at virtually the same time every day, 365 days a year. This creates a natural 12-hour-daylight and 12-hour-darkness cycle that’s necessary for the cannabis plant when it enters its flowering stage.

In North America, it can cost cultivators tens of thousands of dollars to replicate these conditions with artificial heat and lighting. According to some sources, a gram of CBD extract can be produced for as low as $0.35 in Colombia, whereas in Colorado—where indoor cannabis production is commonly used—it would cost roughly $1.75.

This is how Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis. And PharmaCielo is positioned to be at the forefront of this boom.

In their Rionegro facility, they’ve got a living catalog of cannabis varieties—rows upon rows of over 35 different strains, each with thick stalks of budding flower emanating unique aromas. They’ve all been deemed market-worthy and will soon be processed into medical product. On the other end of the greenhouse, a backlog of over 100 additional varieties germinate, waiting to be assessed for their quality and medical potential. The company intends to be in full production by the end of 2018.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INBC), the United Nations-affiliated regulatory body for drugs, recently awarded Colombia with a 40.5 tons of cannabis-per-year quota—the highest medical cannabis quota in the world. This represents about 44 percent of the global medical cannabis quota. Even still, as Federico Cock-Correa, the Director of PharmaCielo Colombia, tells Herb, that won’t be enough. “We have to ask to adjust the quota,” he said. “Because we are going to produce a lot more than 40 tons.”

The environmental impact of producing this much cannabis in places like Colorado or Canada would be massive, already reflected in legal cannabis states’ lengthy utilities bills. In Denver, Colorado, the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis, nearly four percent of the city’s electricity is now used to cultivate cannabis. Some cannabis companies have reported spending as much as $13,000 per month on electricity.

One energy and climate change scientist from California, Evan Mills, reports that indoor cannabis production has an estimated environmental footprint that is “equivalent to that of 2 million average U.S. homes,” with the average kilogram of final product having an impact comparable to “3 million average U.S. cars when aggregated across all national production.” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that these energy costs amount to $6 billion a year and 15 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Some experts believe the impact is so significant in places like Colorado and California it has the potential to jeopardize targets set by state governments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change. In an interview with The Californian, Mills says: “In this warming world, indoor farming is an environmentally unaffordable luxury.”

This is one of the main reasons why PharmaCielo, after considering dozens of potential countries in which to build their primary growing operation, came back to Colombia.

Colombian cannabis farms are a far cry from the assembly-line atmosphere of North American indoor grows, where retina-burning yellow light emanates from high-intensity lamps. Under this type of lighting, special protective glasses are necessary just to safely look at the plants. Wind, temperature, and humidity are all artificially produced or controlled by various machines.

By contrast, PharmaCielo’s plants are entirely sun-grown. Their airy greenhouses are flanked by collected-rainwater lakes and reservoirs of cool stream water that runs down from the mountains. Rather than pots, plants grow from shared soil-beds that line the greenhouse floor.

PharmaCielo has spent the past two years preparing their soil by growing crops like alfalfa, onions, and peanuts that can be turned back into the soil to create natural fertilizers and insect repellants. This framework for sustainable farming in many ways was set up by the preexisting flower industry in Colombia, another reason cannabis is so well positioned to thrive in the country.

The flower industry provides a workforce of qualified farmers willing and ready to transition to cannabis. It employs roughly 180,000 people in Colombia, 15,000 to 20,000 of which are in the Rionegro region, says PharmaCielo Representative David Gordon. “They’re transferable skill sets,” says Gordon. “We have this massive, incredible staffing resource and if we go to northern climates, you don’t have that skill set—it doesn’t exist.”

This ready-made workforce is a crucial part of PharmaCielo’s ability to oversee nearly 130 hectares—roughly 14 million square feet—of combined cultivation facilities, the equivalent of roughly 243 football fields of space. And yet, this is but a small fraction of the land that the company intends to cultivate. According to Gordon, contractable growers in the country have already offered the company 1000 hectares for cultivation.

While legal recreational cannabis gets a lot of attention from the public, many within the industry, including PharmaCielo, are currently focused on the international medical cannabis market, which is developing much faster. By 2025, Grand View Research, a market research company based in the United States, predicts this market will be worth roughly $55.8 billion. Others within the industry project that it could soon reach as high as $200 billion.

For now, PharmaCielo is focused on Colombia’s market. But according to Gordon, with Colombia’s climate and growing conditions, the country could one day meet the entire world’s demand for medical cannabis extracts.

Other major international cannabis producers and businesses have begun to catch on to this opportunity as well. Recently, Canopy Growth, ICC Labs, Aphria, Khiron Life Sciences and other cannabis production giants have all announced their intentions to expand into Colombia. But before international sales have even begun, it looks like they may already be behind. In PharmaCielo’s facility in Rionegro, nearly 250,000 cannabis plants—some for CBD and others for THC—are already underway.

Domestically, the cannabis industry could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined. Globally, Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis. PharmaCielo will be at the forefront of this boom. 

Domestically, the cannabis industry could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined. Globally, Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis.

PharmaCielo doesn’t rely on public supplies for irrigation needs at any of their growing sites. Every cultivation location is equipped with natural water reservoirs that are amply supplied consistently throughout the year with rainwater.

PharmaCielo is Colombia’s first fully licensed, fully operational cultivator and processor of cannabis oil extracts 

PharmaCielo makes extracts from different plants into proprietary natural fertilizer and pest control products, which are exported around the world. 

Recently, the International Narcotics Control Board (INBC), the United Nations-affiliated regulatory body for drugs, awarded Colombia with a 40.5 tons of cannabis-per-year quota—the highest medical cannabis quota in the world. This is about 44 percent of the global medical cannabis quota issued by the INBC. But as Federico Cock-Correa, the Director of PharmaCielo Colombia, tells Herb “We have to ask to adjust the quota. Because we are going to produce a lot more than 40 tons.”

ROB HOFFMAN

2018

CubicFarm Systems Readies For Expansion Into Cannabis Sector As Bevo Agro Prepares To Become Zenabis Global

On October 4, 2018, Bevo Agro announced that it had signed an Arrangement Agreement with Sun Pharm for a reverse take-over of Bevo, and announced its intent to change its name to Zenabis Global. Zenabis will have nearly 3.5 million square feet of available production space.

Now, Bevo introduces CubicFarm Systems Corp. (CubicFarms), an agriculture technology business that was developed by the Bevo management team. As part of the Arrangement Agreement cited above, Bevo's ~43% equity ownership in CubicFarms will be spun out to Bevo's existing shareholders, and CubicFarms intends to simultaneously list on the TSXV as a separate company. Zenabis (through Sun Pharm) also holds a stake in CubicFarms that it will retain post-amalgamation. This investment will be held by Zenabis Ventures, Zenabis' wholly-owned cannabis venture platform.

CubicFarms is the developer of patented technology that automates large-scale commercial farming operations in climate controlled growing chambers. By recycling water, each crop uses a fraction of the water required under traditional farming methods. Further, each machine is constructed inside an individually climate controlled growing chamber, allowing optimized climate, lighting, nutrients and other plant-specific needs, leading to faster growing cycles and year-round production. Utilizing CubicFarms' patented "undulating path" conveyor system, all plants are brought to those harvesting and planting, reducing labour significantly and increasing yield per cubic foot compared to other growing systems.

CubicFarms currently grows lettuce and leafy greens; microgreens; and basil and herbs. CubicFarms is also exploring cannabis cultivation applications in a joint venture with Zenabis named ZenCube. In addition, CubicFarms is further optimizing the technology for the nutraceutical and animal feed space.

CubicFarms has been building and selling systems since 2016, with its systems shipped from a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. This facility is ramping up production to meet CubicFarms' growing global sales pipeline. CubicFarms operates its own commercial scale CubicFarm system, which it installed this summer in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. This facility grows and sells a wide variety of leafy greens to the local retail and wholesale market, and also accommodates research and development.

"I am delighted that Zenabis sees the value in automating the growing process and reducing the space and labour requirements through utilizing CubicFarms technology to advance their growing capacity," said Dave Dineson, CEO of CubicFarm Systems Corp. "The joint venture between CubicFarms and Zenabis will make available cannabis-optimized growing machines for global customers who want to lower their growing costs, increase yields, reduce labour, water and energy usage, eliminate pesticides, and enjoy consistent quality growing."

"It's exciting that CubicFarms can expand on its patented technology to enter into a whole new vertical market," said Leo Benne, Chief Growing Officer of Bevo (Zenabis Global). "CubicFarms offers growers unparalleled accuracy and predictability, so that no crop ever goes to waste, while saving money and time by using a fraction of the resources."

"As a leading licensed producer of cannabis, we have long admired the pioneering technology introduced by CubicFarms," said Rick Brar of Sun Pharm Investments, the new CEO of Zenabis. "We look forward to working in partnership to help CubicFarms expand into worldwide markets as Zenabis continues to meet the growing global demand for cannabis."

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For more information:
CubicFarms
cubicfarms.com

Publication date : 10/11/2018 

From Seed to Plant: How to Grow Your Four Legal Cannabis Plants

NICK EAGLAND

Updated: October 11, 2018

Adults in most provinces will be allowed to grow up to four cannabis plants per residence for personal use after legalization on Oct. 17.

Grow expert Tom Ulanowski, president of Nextleaf Labs in Coquitlam, says the process isn’t too difficult and Canadians have plenty of good reasons to give it a try.

“It’s a lot cheaper than buying from a store or LP (federally licensed producer), especially if your grow is low-tech or if you choose to grow outdoors,” said Ulanowski, a chemist and former quality-assurance manager at Canna Farms.

“You have total control and know exactly what your inputs are. And gardening can be fun and therapeutic, as well.”

Once a grower has their gear and has legally acquired seeds or seedlings (the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch will sell seeds in B.C.), here’s how Ulanowski recommends they put them to good use.

SEED GERMINATION

Fold a piece of paper towel twice into a pocket, place four seeds inside and dampen it with water. Seal the pocket inside a ziploc bag and put it in a warm place. After about a week, the seeds will open and plant tissue will show.

PLANT AND TRANSPLANT

Carefully take the four seeds and put them in peat pellets or small pots with damp peat-perlite mix or coco coir, about 2.5 to five centimetres deep. Set an 18-hours on light cycle, with the six hours off at night. Stalks will emerge in a week or two, and nutrients and water can be added. Vegetative growth will continue for a month or two, at which point the plants should be transplanted to larger pots. Trim away larger leaves.

FLIP AND FLOWER

Once the plants reach between 30 and 60 centimetres tall, give them a 12-hour light cycle. They’ll start flowering and reach maturity within eight to 10 weeks, depending on seed variety. Trim leaves two or three times during flowering. Once the plants mature and their trichomes (hairlike glands) turn cloudy, it’s time to harvest their buds

HARVEST, DRY AND TRIM

Cut off the larger branches and hang them upside down in a dark environment with about 50 per cent relative humidity and 20 C for a week or two. The drying process is done when smaller stems snap, not bend. Trim off leaves and remove dried buds. Put them into a mason jar with a special humidity-control pack. Keep the jar in a dark, cool place like a cupboard, opening the lid to “burp” the buds every few days. After a week or two they’re ready to consume.

Ulanowski said it’s crucial home-growers keep safety and cleanliness in mind. They should abide by dried cannabis possession limits in their province (1,000 grams at home in B.C.) and make sure their landlord or strata council allows home grows.

Tom Ulanowski, president of Nextleaf Labs in Coquitlam SUBMITTED: NEXTLEAF / PNG

“Stay away from pesticides, if possible, and instead rely on sanitation, environmental controls, and beneficial insects to control pests and disease,” he said. “Be discrete for obvious reasons. For example, B.C. laws require you to hide your plant — it can’t be in public view.”

For more details about growing, Ulanowski recommends The Cannabis Grow Bible: The Definitive Guide to Growing Marijuana for Recreational and Medicinal Use.

neagland@postmedia.com

twitter.com/nickeagland

Canopy Growth Completes First Legal MMJ Export From Canada to US

Canopy Growth has completed a legal transfer of cannabis products to a research partner in the United States. To the company's knowledge, this transfer is the first export of legal cannabis products from Canada to the United States pursuant to an import permit issued by the federal United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The shipment was completed for the sole purpose of supporting medical research and development.

Currently, sources of federally regulated cannabis in the United States are limited in scope and genetic diversity. Canopy Growth believes that it can add value to the market and enable the development of rigorous testing standards for products, while advancing the understanding of the risks and benefits of medical cannabis. The advancement of this research stands to serve Americans, Canadians and those around the world who may benefit from legal, approved cannabis based medical treatments.

While this export is a major achievement for the company, in keeping with its philosophy around the globe, Canopy Growth strongly supports legal production at the domestic level over ongoing exports. With this in mind, the company is excited at the potential of bringing its commitment to legal, GMP/GPP produced cannabis operations to the United States but only through federally legal means.

"The United States presents a unique market opportunity and as the most established cannabis business in the world we, in turn, offer a unique ability to advance standardization, IP development, and clinical research that can improve the understanding and legal application of cannabis and cannabinoids," said Mark Zekulin, President and Co-CEO, Canopy Growth. "By engaging in the market through federally legal means and with the right partners, we can create a US-based centre of expertise while also supporting our rapidly expanding global business."

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For more information:
Canopy Growth
1 Hershey Dr.
Smiths Falls, Ontario
K7A 0A8
1 855 558 9333 x 122
invest@canopygrowth.com
www.canopygrowth.com

Publication date : 10/11/2018 

Seven-Figure Order for Ultra-Wide Spectrum Cannabis LEDs

Earlier this month, Valoya, manufacturer of high end LED grow light solutions, introduced Valoya Canna+ to the market – a line of LED luminaires with an ultra-wide spectrum designed for professional cultivation of cannabis. As a company specialized in fine tuned spectra development, Valoya has independently tested and optimized Valoya Canna+ through a series of trials. The result is a balanced spectrum for consistent yields and cannabinoid expressions inside state-of-the-art LED luminaires. Valoya says its Canna+ is the widest spectrum available on the market at the moment covering the range from 380nm (UV-A) to 780nm (Far red) thus resulting in superior cannabinoid profiles.

The order is of 6400 pieces of Valoya Canna+ 120 fixtures which are high intensity, 4’ (120 cm) long bars that with 132 W produce a total output of 320 µmols. Delivery of this order is due before the year end.

“This 7 figure order comes less than a month after the product launch giving a good signal about the value the Valoya Canna+ line brings to the cannabis market. As the cannabis market is developing so are growers’ needs for solutions enabling them to bring superior offerings to the market. Cannabis growers are looking for high yields with superior secondary metabolite and terpene compositions with fixtures that do not consume much energy and are reliable.” – Mr. Rabbe Ringbom, VP Sales and Marketing at Valoya.

The order is realized through Innovative Growers Equipment (IGE), Valoya’s North American distributor for the cannabis market. IGE is an equipment supplier to commercial growers in North America. Their products include ebb and flow and expanded metal benches, Valoya’s LED grow lights, plant support systems, automated fertilizer injectors etc.

For more information:
Valoya Oy, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
sales@valoya.com
www.valoya.com

Innovative Growers Equipment
+1 (815) 991-5010
sales@innovativegrowersequipment.com
www.innovativegrowersequipment.com

US (OR): Shining A Light on Sustainable Cannabis Production

Deschutes Growery works diligently to offset the environmental impacts of its cannabis production by closely monitoring all aspects of its operation, from equipment usage to business partnerships. Energy efficiency is at the center of the Bend grower’s efforts to minimize its carbon footprint. By opting for efficient LED lighting and installing a roof-mounted solar system, Deschutes Growery slashed annual energy use by an estimated 2.5 million kilowatt hours and trimmed an estimated $197,000 from its yearly energy operating costs.

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“Our original high-pressure sodium lighting wasted an enormous amount of energy,” said Justin Clapick, co-owner. “It also produced way too much heat and waste for the intensive nature of growing indoors.”

Converting to LEDs, which produce minimal heat, allowed Deschutes Growery to put lights very close to the plants throughout its vegetative, flower and clone rooms. Combined with an innovative mobile racking system that has up to four levels of plants growing per room, the LEDs enable a high level of bio-density, while achieving a lighting power density of less than 20 watts per square foot in some areas.

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“We’re growing a 10,000-square-foot canopy in an 8,000-square-foot building,” Clapick said. “That 8,000 square feet includes everything from our flower, mother and clone rooms. LEDs not only save us energy, they save on real estate, which is significant.”

Deschutes Growery was also among the first in their industry to use new LED technology that optimizes the wavelength of the light for the different stages of a cannabis plant’s growth cycle. “We use full-spectrum LEDs in the flower stage and a blue spectrum for vegetative and cloning stages. We also installed dimmers that adjust the light level to exactly what the plants need at specific times of growth. It’s all controlled by a computer, making operation simpler.”

The lighting project cost $928,330, and Deschutes Growery received $386,040 in cash incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon based on the energy savings. The company expects to save $192,000 in annual energy cost, so the investment should pay for itself in less than three years. “That doesn’t even count what we’re saving on light bulb replacement costs because LEDs last at least 10 years rather than one year,” said Clapick.

The cannabis producer also boasts a 56.4-kilowatt roof-mounted solar electric system installed by the building owner. “We’re fortunate to have great business partners who believe in our story and are just as committed to sustainability as we are,” said Clapick. Energy Trust provided a $46,500 cash incentive for the solar system, which produces an estimated 64,000 kilowatt hours a year.

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For more information:
Energy Trust of Oregon
1.866.368.7878
www.energytrust.org/grow