WA company Little Green Pharma harvests first crop, could have medicinal cannabis available in weeks
Australia’s first locally grown medical cannabis for commercial use could be available for patients within weeks.
Perth phytopharmaceutical company Little Green Pharma harvested its first crop in WA’s South West last week, almost 18 months after it revealed it was cultivating plants.
It is the first time medical cannabis has been grown in WA, with Little Green Pharma the only company in the State with a licence and permit from the Office of Drug Control to grow crops locally.
Managing director Fleta Solomon said the company had reached a major milestone towards its goal of producing high-quality, locally grown medicinal cannabis.
Its long-term aim was to build a world-class production facility in WA and expand business.
“We will now dry the flower and shortly after extract a sample of resin to send to an approved certified laboratory,” Ms Solomon said.
“Testing the resin for purity and quality assurance is mandatory.”
Strict controls around the production of medical cannabis meant the company could not reveal the location of its secure hydroponic growing facility.
Ms Solomon said the plants being cultivated generally had lower levels of the psychoactive THC cannabinoid and higher levels of the non-psychoactive CBD cannabinoid compared with recreational marijuana.
Directors of the company recently returned from a fact-finding mission on the medical cannabis industry, taking them to Israel, Canada and the US.
Ms Solomon said they had looked at large-scale growing and manufacturing facilities and planned to raise funds to enable the company to ramp up production.
The company also wanted to take part in medical research and was in talks with several research institutions in WA and overseas.
Patients will need a doctor’s prescription to get medical cannabis.
