PharmaCielo Wins Colombian License for Medical Marijuana Manufacture
Toronto, Canada-based PharmaCielo announced June 28 that it won a manufacturing license from Colombia’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection to process marijuana plants for “medical and scientific purposes.”
The company first announced plans to obtain licenses and then build a marijuana processing plant in the Medellin suburb of Rionegro, Antioquia (see Medellin Herald, February, 03 2016).
The enterprise would produce cannabis-oil extracts that could be used for elaboration of drugs for treating cancer, epilepsy and sleeping disorders, for both domestic and export markets, according to the company/
The new processing license – issued to the company’s “PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S” subsidiary – “allows PharmaCielo to apply for a license to grow cannabis plants and brings the company one step closer to becoming a fully integrated, licensed grower and manufacturer of cannabis oil extracts,” according to the company.
“After [Colombia] President Juan Manuel Santos signed the regulatory Decree in late 2015 to establish a licensing framework for the cultivation, processing, research and development and exportation of cannabis extracts for medical purposes, PharmaCielo announced its formal application to become an official grower and processor of medical cannabis in Colombia,” according to a company press statement.
“PharmaCielo is honored to be the first company to have been granted approval to begin the process of producing high-quality cannabis oil extracts for medicinal use and scientific research here in Colombia,” added Federico Cock-Correa, President and CEO of PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings.
“In addition to its equatorial location and ideal microclimates, [Colombia] is one of the most economically advantageous countries in the world for the production of large volumes of high-quality, low-cost cannabis due to its expertise in the flower industry, knowledgeable and skilled labor force and supportive government,” according to the company.
“The announcement today means that the process laid out by President Santos is almost complete and we are pleased to have been granted approval at this important stage,” said Jon Ruiz, President and CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd. “This approval brings us that much closer to our goal of becoming the world’s leading supplier of naturally grown high-quality medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts.”
Meanwhile, the Colombian National Narcotics Council will be reviewing PharmaCielo’s application for a cultivation license. PharmaCielo “anticipates having more announcements in the coming weeks,” according to the company.
According to a separate press statement from Colombia’s Ministry of Health, six other enterprises are in the process of seeking licenses for production of marijuana derivitives for medical purposes in Colombia.
PharmaCielo president Jon Ruiz was quoted in a separate June 28 report in daily newspaper El Tiempo (Bogota) as saying that the company plans to develop a 600-hectare marijuana farm in the next few years, in order to supply feedstock to the processing plant. The company would invest upwards of US$100 million in the project, Ruiz was quoted as saying.
