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“As a vertically integrated company, we do everything from cultivating cannabis to processing, extraction, developing branded products, sales and distribution,” says Lewis Swarts, vice-president of operations with LHS. “Our commitment to patient education begins at Liberty 360°, where research and development is expanding the boundaries of knowledge regarding every aspect of the cannabis supply chain.”

Earlier this year, LHS purchased a 387-acre site for the Innovation Campus, including the assets of a former citrus nursery — more than 200,000 square feet of state-of-the-art greenhouses and processing facilities. The complex is now undergoing a retrofit, including construction of a commercial kitchen for production of edibles and a new 12,000-square-foot processing area to extract and refine cannabis oils.

Liberty 360° has already added 30,000 square feet of growing space to the company’s 21,000 square feet at its Chestnut Hill facility. LHS plans to bring another 80,000 square feet into production at Liberty 360° by year-end and an additional 17,000 square feet at its Alachua facility. Once the retrofit is completed in early 2019, production capacity will reach approximately 225,000 square feet. The facility will also soon receive its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) seal.

While the production capacity is impressive, it’s R&D that will demonstrate greatest value to shareholders. LHS has been granted a cultivation and dispensary licence in Massachusetts, and a processing and dispensary license in Ohio. It’s looking to expand to other states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.