An interesting note regarding cannabis imported in
Post# of 4861
Last week, Tilray obtained EU-GMP certification for its Portuguese facility “to manufacture medical cannabis extracts in-house.” This is a really big deal folks.
Uruguay-based Fotmer Life Sciences exported another large shipment of medical cannabis to Portugal in May – this one totaling almost 1.5 metric tons (3,307 pounds), according to Uruguayan customs documents viewed by Marijuana Business Daily.
The overseas shipment comes about six months after Fotmer sent 1 metric ton of high-THC cannabis flower to Portugal.
The Uruguayan shipments could spur other European importers to follow suit, a move that would increasingly underscore the growth of the global medical cannabis industry.
The two huge shipments, meanwhile, are unusual for their secretive nature – at least from the importer’s standpoint. Cannabis companies, particularly those from Canada, typically boast about the smallest of international shipments.
So far, no company has publicly taken responsibility for importing the shipments into Europe from Uruguay which is very unusual, but I would not rule out Tilray as the possible importer.
For those who do not know, Tilray does have a grow and processing facility in Portugal.
The May shipment involved 1,421 kilograms (3,133 pounds) of high-THC flower, which exceeds the 1,000-kilogram shipment by Fotmer in 2019 that is believed to have been the largest high-THC flower ever exported in a single shipment.
Fotmer CEO Jordan Lewis told MJBizDaily the company produces in facilities certified with Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP) and Uruguayan-GMP certification and that the firm has the “near-term goal of achieving EU-GMP certification.”
“As has been demonstrated by Fotmer as well as other companies, the pathway for GACP product as an input into an EU-GMP supply chain is both viable and cost-effective,” he said.
Lewis added that he could not comment on the identity of the European buyer.
The means whatever entity is conducting these transactions on the Portuguese side is effectively paving the way for other medical cannabis companies to export into the European Union without first obtaining costly EU-GMP certification – provided the cannabis is grown and harvested under certain quality standards and processed in an EU-GMP facility in Europe before being sold to patients.
This is why Tilray obtaining EU-GMP certification for its Portuguese facility to manufacture medical cannabis extracts in-house is so important, and it might be a clue that processing is ramping up.
Source: Marijuana Business Daily