A large-scale East Ladner greenhouse operation that’s making the switch to cannabis is getting into the German market.
AgraFlora Organics International Inc., which has a partnership with the Houweling Nurseries complex on 64th Street, announced it has entered into a letter of intent with EuroLife Brands Inc. to collaborate on a physician-sanctioned German cannabis education platform called Cannvas.de.
AgraFlora also recently announced the acquisition of The Good Company GmbH, the parent company of German EU-GDP medical cannabis distributor, Farmako GmbH.
The German patient population for medical cannabis is experiencing exponential growth with over 100,000 patients now active, an increase from approximately 800 in 2017, AgraFlora states.
“Prohibition Partners has forecasted that Germany will eclipse one million eligible medical cannabis patients by 2024. With over 365,000 physicians, 2,200 hospitals and thousands of clinics, Germany is becoming a leading European Union member state within the emerging international cannabis industry. Patient numbers continue to experience geometric growth rates and cannabis product uptake continues to be robust across the country,” a company news release notes.
The retrofit of the Houweling greenhouse is taking place over several phases. The 49-acre facility will be the second largest cannabis greenhouse facility under glass in Canada among those that are currently built. The biggest is an Ontario facility owned by Canopy Growth Corp., the world’s largest cannabis company. Canopy also has a separate large-scale greenhouse operation on Hornby Drive in East Delta.
The Houweling operation is also connected to the production an array of products, such as CBD-infused pain relief creams and roll-ons, organic cosmetics, shampoos and conditioners, as well as snacks.
Delta city officials at last month’s Union of B.C. Municipalities convention put forward a resolution calling on the government to restrict the cultivation of cannabis on the food-producing Agricultural Land Reserve but the UBCM resolution committee determined the issue should more appropriately be directed to the federal government, since licensing is under the federal mandate.
Delta has raised the issue directly with the provincial government, while Mayor George Harvie said the city “definitely will” raise the issue again directly with the feds.
