Colombia Enters Cannabis Oil Production

Colombia has been on the map, certainly when looking at the cannabinoid world from Europe, for the last two to three years. Judging by the number of participants who show up at International Cannabis Business Conferences, at least from this part of the world, this is also not a casual discussion.

As of November, the game has clearly changed. For all of the talk about production in the country, up until now, all the licensed grows were for plants with less than 1% THC.

This has now changed. The country has issued its first license for the commercialization of “psychoactive” cannabis, in other words containing higher levels of THC. The recipient of the same, Khiron Life Sciences Corp. also announced that it would use the license to produce high THC extract to treat 15,000 patients via the Latin American Institute of Neurology and the Nervous System (or ILANS).

Beyond domestic distribution, what does this development bode for international markets?

While Germany is clearly on the minds of Khiron, a shrewd international operator with operations that already reach to the UK and Germany (including helping to supply cannabis for the British Project2021 project) this opens up other discussions a little closer to home in the same hemisphere. Namely, how long will it be before such companies also begin to look to both the Canadian and US markets?

Khiron, in particular, also has plans to supply Uruguay with whole-plant export, which is an ambitious move considering the country is the only one in Latin America and still one of less than a handful globally to legalize recreational use.

Nevertheless, it is this play alone which signifies that Khiron, along with others that clearly establish themselves in such geography, is looking at markets with high need and cost sensitivity.

How cost-effective cannabis oil from Colombia is in the European hemisphere as more local production begins to ramp up is another matter. See Greece, Portugal, and of course North Macedonia in the short term.

This question is still in the room of course, along with the acceptance of medical GMP standards for anything coming out of the American hemisphere in general, particularly in the aftermath of CannTrust.

Regardless, it is clear that as another early mover Canadian decides to revamp and retool, including putting both European and Canadian plans to expand on indefinite hold that Latin America will play an increasingly bigger role in the global cannabis market.