Special Report: Creso Pharma’s (ASX:CPH) wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Mernova Medicinal, has been recognised as a supplier to the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation – a major achievement for the company.

The recognition means that Mernova will be able to sell its Ritual Green brand of high-quality, hand-trimmed, artisanal cannabis strains through Ontario Cannabis Store, a crown agency that is the province’s only wholesaler of legal recreational cannabis.

The province is Canada’s largest recreational cannabis market, with sales of regulated cannabis in September of $C77.9 million ($81.2 million).

Although volume commitments are yet to be finalised, the first purchase orders are expected to come soon.

“This is a huge step forward towards selling our high-quality products in Canada’s largest market,” says Mernova managing director Jack Yu.

“To be able to compete in a market with over $C385 million in sales between April 2019 and March 2020, which continues to grow, as evidenced by over $80 million in sales this past September alone, is a huge opportunity for us and we look forward to firmly establishing ourselves as one of the premier cannabis producers in the country.

“We look forward to greatly expanding the reach and distribution of our Ritual Green products, so that more consumers can experience the premium products that Creso Pharma and Mernova have to offer.”

Multiple balls in the air

The move into Ontario comes as Creso is also expanding its reach in Australia.

Earlier this month it signed a deal with Martin & Pleasance, which supplies natural medicine products to over 4,000 pharmacies across Australia and New Zealand.

The agreement called for Creso to supply the wholesaler with its Swiss-made CBD lozenges and teas for sale under Martin & Pleasance brands across Australia, if the country’s Therapeutic Goods Administration went ahead and relaxed regulations on low-dose CBD products.

The TGA went ahead and did that on Tuesday, meaning that from February the company will be able to apply to have its low-dose CBD products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. If listed on the register, they’ll be able to be sold in pharmacies as “pharmacy only medicine” similar to the way cold and flu drugs containing pseudoephedrine are dispensed.

The company is also exploring opportunities in the United States after the US House of Representatives passed the MORE Act, which if approved in the Senate would decriminalise marijuana at the federal level. The Mernova facility is just 350km from the US border.

This article was developed in collaboration with Creso Pharma, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.