As the German cultivation bid deadline ticks down, the big Canadian Licensed Producers (LPs) are solidifying their presence in Germany and far beyond across Europe.

Two, in particular, have made major announcements last week, coming hot on the heels of Aurora’s Polish expansion.

Canopy Growth Corporation, continues to move aggressively across Europe to solidify its presence across the continent. As of the beginning of November in fact, Canopy’s European HQ in Frankfurt announced that the company is currently eying additional cultivation sites in Spain, Italy, and Greece.

Aphria is also making big news. The producer has just announced that it is seeking EU GMP certification and its intention to buy existing German distributor CC Pharma, with distribution reach to 13,000 pharmacies. Earlier in the year, Aphria acquired German Nuuvera, a global cannabis company currently exploring opportunities in Israel and Italy beyond Germany.

But that is also not the only thing going on “in town.” Wayland Corp also has announced recently that it is going to be producing in Italy in a unique, cleantech-biogas-fuelled facility, and even more interestingly, working with a university on high-tech absorption techniques to help standardize dosing for (at present) CBD.

The European Production Industry Is Growing At Lightning Speed

Buoyed by their experience in the Canadian market, LPs are now focussing on Europe with even more intensity as the dramas over the German cultivation bid, British schedule II access (no matter what happens with Brexit), and medical cannabis reform itself unfold.

As a group, they have money and talent, but are now also aware that they are not the only game around.

Producers from the rest of the world, including South America, are increasingly eyeing the European market, frequently in combination with Canadian corporate ties (see ICC and Hexo). So are institutional investors (from the U.S. in particular). The European market represents, as a region, the first real medical market anywhere and a healthcare system set to absorb a great number of cannabis sales.

Learn the latest about the cannabis industry and network with top investors, entrepreneurs, and advocates at the International Cannabis Business Conference. Next up for the ICBC-San Francisco, California on February 7-8, 2019. Get your early-bird tickets by January 18th to save.

After San Francisco, the ICBC heads to Barcelona, Spain, on March 14th and then returns to Berlin, Germany, from March 31st to April 2nd. Stay tuned for more exciting locations in the near future!