By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Fast-growing Baltimore-based biotech firm Greater Cannabis Company announced that it has entered into a letter of agreement (LOI) with Brazilian retailer CBR Participações SA to market the American technology for cannabis in Brazil.
As part of the agreement, CBR will distribute the products to its network of 300 pharmacies and more than 1,500 point-of-sale retailers in the country, serving Brazil’s increasing market demand for cannabis products.
The agreement should take effect by 2021. “We continue to see explosive interest and growth for our technology in Brazil as the country’s cannabis market continues to expand at an exponential rate,” said Aitan Zacharin, Chief Executive Officer of Greater Cannabis Company.
Cannabidiol (CBD) for therapeutic purposes is legal in Brazil since 2015.
The country began by allowing the import of CBD oil in products that have potential medical benefits and has continued to advance its legislation and legalization of cannabis.
The last couple of years has seen cannabis legalization sweep over North America. Thirty two US states now allow cannabis for medical use, while sixteen allow cannabidiol (CBD). Ten US states and the District of Columbia allow for recreational cannabis use, and full legalization came to Canada in October last year.
There are about 10,000 active licenses for cannabis businesses in the U.S., according to statistics portal Statista. This includes cultivation, extraction and manufacturing, retail, distribution, and testing licenses.
The North America legal cannabis market earned US$12 billion last year, growing by 30 percent on the year. The largest market was the United States, which totaled US$10.4 billion. It was followed by Canada with US$1.6 billion.