News about the expansion of marijuana business is now everywhere, not only for countries as Canada or Uruguay where the recreational use is legal. During last December, a Canadian company announced the acquisition of land in Argentina to cultivate weed.
The announcement
On December 11, the company Wayland Group announced on their website:
“Wayland Group is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to purchase 819 hectares of existing developed agriculture land in San Juan Province in Argentina. San Juan Province is ideal for cannabis cultivation due to the province’s climate and altitude. The presence of a stable economy and infrastructure to support business development is another contributing factor to the Company’s interest in the country. Recent construction of 120 MW of hydroelectricity production, new roads, and a highly skilled labor pool, with a rich history of agricultural production and further processing capabilities, make San Juan an ideal choice for development for Wayland”.
The total purchase price for the acquisition is USD$8.5MM compromised of USD$4MM in stock (3,225,806 shares based on a $1.65 stock price) and USD$4.5MM in cash.
It is estimated that production would begin in the middle of 2019.
Argentinian regulation
The actual economic situation in Argentina is complicated and for some, this is a sign of change for this year.
For the agreement, businessmen were received by San Juan Governor, Sergio Uñac, whose administration is working on a regulation that allows the company to start working to produce medicinal cannabis.
Medicinal consumption of marijuana was approved by law in Argentina during 2017 at the national level. But to cultivate the intervention of other national organizations is still required.
In the southern country, this new caught the attention of locals because San Juan province is widely known for being a wine producer.
After the announcement of Wayland Group, another cannabis company (Green Leaf) also announced inversion in the same province of San Juan, however, the full details of the transaction have not transcended.
What is Wayland Group?
The group was founded in 2013 and is vertically integrated, from cultivation to cannabis processing. It is headquartered in Canada and Germany and already produces in these two countries, they also operate in Switzerland, Italy, Colombia, and the United Kingdom.
Canada and marijuana
During 2017, the Canadian government developed a poll across the country and got some interesting data:
- About 4.2 million or 14% of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported some use of cannabis products for medical or non-medical use in the past three months. More than half (56%) of the users indicated that they used some form of cannabis “daily” or “weekly.”
- Canadians were asked if they thought they would change their behavior once cannabis is legalized for non-medical use. Regardless of use, over three-quarters (79%) said that they would not be more likely to try or to increase their cannabis consumption.
- During 2017, Canadians spent an estimated C$5.7 billion (US$4.63 billion). The average cannabis user spent about C$1,200 on weed, mostly on non-medical marijuana.
Great news for marijuana users!
