Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Will Supply Medical Marijuana To Italy

Canadian company Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced yesterday that it will begin supplying medical cannabis to Italy. Aurora Cannabis will export medical marijuana through its German-based subsidiary Pedanios GmbH. This new deal could mark an important development, helping legitimize legal weed on the international market.

Aurora Cannabis Wins Contract

Aurora Cannabis secured the new contract after winning a two-round application process. In the first round, all applicants were put through a screening process. Only companies that passed were qualified to move on to the second round.

Along with the Aurora-owned Pedanios, only one other company cleared the first round. Ultimately, Pedanios won the bid.

Under the new agreement, Aurora will export cannabis first to Pedanios, which is based in Germany. From there, it will head to the Italian medical marijuana market.

According to a press release published by Aurora Cannabis, the company still needs to sign the final contracts with the Italian government. The company expects that to happen in the next few days or so.

At this time, it is unclear when Aurora Cannabis will begin exporting medical marijuana to Italy.

Italy Needs More Medical Marijuana

The new arrangement between Aurora Cannabis and Italy is the result of skyrocketing demand in Italy.

Currently, the Italian Ministry of Defence produces the country’s supply of medical cannabis. But the country has recently seen a massive increase in demand. So much so, in fact, that the country decided to look for outside partners to help increase its supply.

As a result, Italy announced an EU-wide public tender process. After completing that process and winning the contract, Aurora’s European company Pedanios will now supply cannabis directly to the Italian Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence will continue overseeing the production and distribution of medical marijuana throughout Italy.

“I am very proud of Aurora and the Pedanios team for the quality of their execution in becoming the exclusive winner of this important tender,” Neil Belot, Aurora’s Chief Global Business Development Officer, said in the company’s press release.

He also said that the new contract will give Aurora “access to one of the largest and most restricted markets in Europe.”

Final Hit: Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Will Supply Medical Marijuana To Italy

With this agreement, Aurora expands its international presence.

The company is based in Canada, where it currently runs two cannabis production facilities. One is located in Alberta, and the other is in Quebec. The company is also building two more facilities in Canada.

With this new deal, Aurora Cannabis has secured footholds in two promising cannabis markets: Canada and Italy.

Canada expects to legalize weed later this year. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set July 1, 2018 as the target date for making weed legal in the country.

Recently, conservative lawmakers tried to stall progress toward that goal. But recent reports suggest that the push for legalization will most likely continue as planned. In fact, growers in Canada are already ramping up retail marijuana production in preparation for the legal change.

If Canada legalizes weed, it will be the second country to do so. Uruguay is the first.

Along with Canada, Aurora Cannabis is now set to build a strong presence in Italy, another pioneering cannabis country.

Several EU countries, including Italy, have legalized cannabis-based medicine. Among those countries, Italy has built a reputation as a leader on cannabis issues within the EU.