Columbia Care, the leading medical cannabis company in the United States, has had a licence for the import and export of medical cannabis approved by Malta Enterprise, becoming the first cannabis company authorized to operate in the European Union (EU).

“This announcement is our first response to inquiries from patients, medical leaders, policy makers and institutions throughout Europe, South America and Oceania to provide access to our patented portfolio of pharmaceutical-quality, dose metered cannabinoid-based medicines,” said Nicholas Vita, Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Care.

“We are pleased that our operation in Malta will launch our EU expansion. This island nation has always been a key strategic access point for Europe. The leadership and expertise of our executive chairman and co-founder, Michael Abbott, and our partners in Malta, Solea Limited, were instrumental in realizing this success.”

Michael Bianchi, director at Solea Limited, Columbia Care’s partner in Malta, said: “The expansion of Columbia Care into Europe is significant, given its well-earned reputation as the leading medical cannabis company in the U.S. I fully believe that the Company will continue to demonstrate the utmost excellence, professionalism and innovation in Europe and uphold its impeccable reputation at the international level.”

Columbia Care expects to launch with its portfolio of pharmaceutical-quality, dose metered cannabinoid-based medicines throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Operations in Malta are expected to be best in class, including a GMP-certified and ISO-certified research and manufacturing facility where it will produce the full suite of its proprietary pharmaceutical-quality medical cannabis products, including ClaraCeed™, TheraCeed™ and EleCeed™, in tablet, vaporization oil, tincture, suppository and topical formulations. Columbia Care will also grow a targeted selection of medical grade flower strains derived from its proprietary genetic bank containing over 250 phenotypes.