A Colombian marijuana company has received authorization to export product to Canada for testing, a move meant to show that the cannabis grown in the South American nation is “top quality.”
Ecomedics S.A.S., which operates as Clever Leaves and is backed by U.S.-based investment firm Northern Swan, has obtained all the necessary approvals to, for the first time, legally ship cannabis from Colombia to Canada.
Health Canada issued six authorizations for Clever Leaves to import dry cannabis flower for scientific purposes, according to a news release.
Those authorizations cover six chemovars – plant variants with distinct chemical compositions – that are being shipped to a laboratory for analytical testing.
The authorization from the Colombian government – the first of its kind – was granted roughly two weeks after obtaining the Canadian import permit.
“Once we have the analytical results, we would be able to show the world that it’s possible to grow top-quality cannabis in Colombia, certified by an external Canadian laboratory,” Andres Fajardo, CEO of Clever Leaves, told Marijuana Business Daily.