It looks like the good weather and the cultural acceptance of weed in our country are a big draw for the large companies working in cannabis. The latest giant to join the medical cannabis business in Spain is Curaleaf Holdings, a monster of a cannabis corporation and a leader in the United States.
Curaleaf Holdings, the US weed giant, buys a licence to grow in Spain
The weed market in Spain is bubbling away and, even though cannabis is still completely illegal in the country, companies are finding ways to get a foot in the door.
Licences to grow medical cannabis are very attractive for this kind of corporation. Through the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices, part of the Ministry of Health, this enormous group has got hold of one. Curaleaf Holdings is new to our country, but in the United States it has been number 1 in the cannabis sector by revenue for quite some time.
This giant operates out of Massachusetts and already has outlets in 23 states. This month it acquired the British company Emmac Life Sciences Limited.
Since this is a huge business group, the British company is in turn integrated into Medalchemy, a firm based at the Science Park of the University of Alicante. The US company acquired Emmac after an outlay of around 237 million euros plus an investment commitment of 108 million, figures that hint at the economic potential legalisation would bring.
It is no surprise that this big company is crossing the pond, because, as its CEO puts it, "Europe is home to the world's largest potential medical cannabis market in terms of population, purchasing power and regulatory outlook". The economic impact of tapping into the old continent is huge, and market opportunities are expected to top 120 billion dollars in the main European Union countries alone.
Curaleaf Holdings is the number one company in the US by revenue, with 2.7 billion dollars, and the fifth in the world. Its output is based mainly on selling cannabis oils, topical lotions, capsules, tinctures, lozenges and edibles.
This new move means we now have two foreign companies holding a licence in our country, since another one was granted a few months ago: Canadian company Canopy Growth acquired Cáñamos y Fibras Naturales SL (Cafina) back in 2019, which at the time held two authorisations from AEMPS, one for cultivation for research purposes and another for production for medical purposes.
What do you make of this news? Do you reckon there is a future for weed in Spain or is there still a long way to go? Drop us your thoughts.
Keep reading: The 5 Most Unusual Places Where Cannabis Grows Have Been Found and If Joints No Longer Get You High, Do These 5 Things and Boost the Intensity of Your Highs
