Tilray, which is one of Canada’s 38 licensed producers of medical cannabis, has just announced that it will begin exporting its product to Chile. The British Columbia-based company will team with Chilean commercial producer Alef Biotechnology SpA, which has secured exclusive rights to distribute Tilray’s product. The first shipment is expected to arrive in Santiago by late February and will be available in select pharmacies and hospitals.
This achievement is among the latest in Tilray’s effort to expand in the international market as it was the first company to legally export medical cannabis into Australia and the European Union last year. The company is also involved in several important studies in using cannabis as treatment for child epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chemotherapy-induced nausea.
Other companies that have succeeded in expanding into the foreign market includes Dutch-based company, Bedrocan, which is exporting to Canada, Australia and parts of Europe, and another Canadian company called Peace Naturals, which has shipped products to Germany. Currently, no company in the United States exports any products beyond its borders.
Sales of green goodness are expected to boom in Chile as it has had one of the most drastic changes of heart towards the product in recent years. When it was once one of the most tightly controlled substances, private, personal use was decriminalized in 2005. Ten years later in 2015, pharmacies finally allowed the sale of cannabis-derived prescription medications.
L.C. Squared
