The award-winning Western Sydney engineering firm is developing a world-first fully automated growing system which it plans to implement with leading medicinal cannabis cultivation companies.
Farming of legalised cannabis is huge business globally. In 2017 the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) rescheduled certain medicinal cannabis products to schedule 8 of the Poisons Standard, making the prescription of medicinal cannabis legal in Australia.
PMG CEO Jason Elias said with Australia’s first cannabis farms expected to be providing medical marijuana by next year or so, planning was well advanced in terms of how the cultivation facilities would work.
“We recognised a significant opportunity to use our engineering and project development skills to work in an exciting area of legalised cannabis farming,” Mr Elias said.
“Australia is in a unique position in the sense of this being a start-up industry so the opportunities for investment and job creation are significant.
Mr Elias said his firm is developing is a one-stop solution to build; and then maintain an automatic cannabis growing system for Australian conditions.
“This is a fully automated unit designed uniquely for Australian conditions. No one has done this anywhere in the world.”
PMG has previously developed a range of innovative products including the mobile swimming pool, mobile food container, fully automated mobile emergency relief unit and recently announced their successful bid of the Land 400 project for armoured vehicles.
The cannabis oil produced from the plants at the farms can be used to help Australians with conditions like epilepsy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis or those needing paediatric care.
In the US sales of legalised cannabis are expected to exceed $17M by 2021 and stocks have doubled or tripled in value over recent years.
Federal legislation in Australia now allows people or organisations to apply for a licence to cultivate medicinal cannabis with the Commonwealth Government’s Office of Drug Control.
They will have to pass a “fit and proper person test” and prove that their crop growing site is secure.
Recreational use of marijuana remains illegal across all federal, state, and territory.
As of February 2018, there were several medicinal cannabis cultivation companies listed on the ASX, including:
• Algae.Tec (ASX:AEB).
• Atlas Pearls (ASX:ATP).
• Auscann Group Holdings (ASX:AC8).
• Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: BOT).
• Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH).
• Esense-Lab (ASX:ESE).
• MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC).
• Roto-Gro International (ASX:RGI).
• Zelda Therapeutics (ASX:ZLD).
• Atlas Pearls (ASX:ATP).
• Auscann Group Holdings (ASX:AC8).
• Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: BOT).
• Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH).
• Esense-Lab (ASX:ESE).
• MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC).
• Roto-Gro International (ASX:RGI).
• Zelda Therapeutics (ASX:ZLD).
The federal legislation also legalises manufacturing cannabis, but this activity will only be carried out by authorised chemists.
Importantly, in every state and territory, patients must ask their doctors or specialists about the possibility of using medicinal cannabis in their case.
If a patient is eligible, the medical practitioner may make an application to the government for access to medicinal cannabis.
PMG expects to released concepts for the Automated Australian Cannabis Farm over the next two months. Visit www.precisionmetalgroup.com
