Marijuana Business Magazine - May-June 2018

The international cannabis market offers multibillion-dollar opportunities for North American MJ businesses N orth American cannabis entrepreneurs who think it’s too early to be looking at international opportunities should think again.The plane is boarding. In Canada, several federally licensed cultivation companies – ranging from Canopy Growth and Tilray to Aurora Cannabis and Cronos Group – already are exporting cannabis or signing production deals in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Exports of dried medical cannabis from Canada rose tenfold in 2017, reaching more than 522 kilograms. Cannabis oil, meanwhile, was shipped to nine countries. This Canadian expansion is, of course, helped by the plant’s federally legal status in Canada, where government regulators have provided companies with export licenses, while governments in the importing countries have reciprocated. Despite marijuana’s illegal status in the United States, several U.S. plant-touching and ancillary businesses already are partnering with companies or exploring opportunities in foreign markets – primarily Canada, but also markets such as Jamaica, Germany, Israel, Aus- tralia and Lesotho. Seattle-based Privateer Holdings has business interests on five conti- nents (see Q&A with co-founder and CEO Brendan Kennedy on Page 12). By Omar Sacirbey GOING GL BAL May-June 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 51