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Roll a new one! Melbourne gets $100M medical marijuana facility

Jun 27, 2018

Victoria was the first state to legalise medicinal cannabis. Source: Getty.

Melbourne is getting set to welcome the country’s biggest medical marijuana facility after it was revealed that a $100 million operation is to be built at the airport.

Australia’s largest producers of the medicinal drug, Cann Group, announced the groundbreaking news on Wednesday after signing an agreement with Melbourne airport operator Australia Pacific Airports Corporation.

The 37,000 square metre facility will be housed within the airport precinct and cost a whopping $100 million to complete. Cann Group, who were the first company in Australia to be issued with a licence for medical cannabis production, also said the project will create around 170 jobs.

Cann Group CEO Peter Crock said: “This site is ideally suited to our needs and the heads of agreement represents an important step that allows us to proceed with final design. APAM’s contribution to the construction of these facilities will enable Cann to invest additional capital in increased cultivation capacity; expanded development and production capabilities, while also allowing for further future expansion.”

“As per our ongoing strategy, the facility provides Cann with the necessary scale to compete on the global stage in the medicinal cannabis sector.”

Once the facility has been completed, Cann have permission to operate cultivation, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution of medicinal cannabis, remaining responsible for all necessary government approvals required.

Victoria became the first Australian state to legalise the use of cannabis for medical reasons when The Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill was passed in state parliament in April 2016, and access to the drug was rolled out gradually across the state in 2017.

In February 2017 Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that it would become easier for seriously ill Aussies to access medicinal cannabis after the Federal Government gave the green light for approved companies to legally import, store and sell the drug until domestic production meets local needs.

At the time, Mr. Hunt said: “We want to make supply available but it has to be legal. It has to be safe and we want to make sure this medicinal cannabis is available but on the same basis as any of the serious drugs and medicines that can only be dealt with through prescription and through a very rigorous medical process.”

While around the globe, medicinal weed is currently approved for use in Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, USA, Canada, Czech Republic, North Korea, Spain, Uruguay, Chilé, and Turkey.

The drug is believed to be efficient in the treatment of chronic and neuropathic pain, as well as helping to subdue chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and for improving muscle spasms.

Last year, the drug was also tested as a potential remedy for insomnia by Perth-based company Zelda Therapeutics who found the substance to be beneficial to people suffering from chronic insomnia.

Australia Pacific Airports property chief Linc Horton said Cann’s decision to locate its growing facility within the airport precinct “is consistent with our strategy to attract high quality tenants that not only contribute to the long term objectives of the business, but seek to connect Victoria’s technology industry to the rest of the world.”