ECS granted cultivation licence for Tasmanian medicinal cannabis facility

Agribusiness and hemp food company ECS Botanics Holdings Ltd (ASX: ECS) has been granted a Cultivation Licence by the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Health Office of Drug Control (ODC) for medicinal cannabis operations at its site in Tasmania.

Managing Director Alex Keach said the licence authorises ECS to undertake a range of activities in specified areas of the licensed premises as provided for in the site plan that was lodged with the licence application.

“To receive the cultivation licence so soon after receiving our manufacturing licence is exciting and a credit to the team,” Mr Keach said.

“This sets us up increasingly well for 2020. We look forward to updating the market on our medicinal cannabis plans, as we take an innovative approach with a business plan that positions us to take advantage of a growing and changing landscape (regulatory & commercial) in both hemp and medicinal cannabis.”

The activities to be undertaken include:

1. the cultivation of cannabis plants, in accordance with one or more medicinal cannabis permits, for the purpose of producing cannabis or cannabis resin for medicinal purposes
2. the production of cannabis or cannabis resin for medicinal purposes, in accordance with one or more medicinal cannabis permits
3. activities relating to such obtaining, cultivation or production, including but not limited to the following:
   1. the obtaining of cannabis plants for the purpose of cultivation
   2. the packaging, transport, storage, possession, testing and control of cannabis plants, cannabis or cannabis resin
   3. the supply of cannabis plants, cannabis or cannabis resin

The licence period is valid from 13 December 2019 to 13 December 2020.

Keach said that based on dialogue with the ODC, ECS expects to be able to extend the license beyond this initial term as it does with the recently granted medicinal cannabis manufacturing license.

ECS has now completed it licensing strategy and, unlike any other company in Australia, has a suite of licences across the cannabis industry that enable it to conduct separate activities and be well positioned for the future,” Mr Keach said.

The company has engaged leading medicinal cannabis consultancy group PharmOut as it pursues development of the proposed medicinal cannabis facility in Tasmania.