QLD GROWS WORLD’S LARGEST MEDICAL MARIJUANA NURSERY
09 Apr 2019
With the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines on the rise in Australia, Canadian producer Asterion has announced plans for a new marijuana plant production facility in Queensland. The company will invest $10.6 million into the project and estimate it will produce 500,000 kg of the plant per year, making it the largest medical marijuana nursery in the world.
Image Unsplash
A 75-hectare section of farmland adjacent to Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport in Queensland will be transformed into a colossal 400,000 square metre marijuana facility. The area offers the opportunity for further growth and expansion in the future, should the project prove successful.
When constructed it will be one of only a few licensed marijuana facilities in Queensland.
Asterion’s Australian subsidiary will enable it to stay on par with its Canadian competitors and they hope to grow it into the world’s largest marijuana production facility. The current largest facility is currently in British Columbia, run by Canadian producer Canopy Growth.
Image Toowoomba Regional Council
The new facility will include six, 10-hectare greenhouses to house the production of organic medical marijuana and will be powered solely by sustainable and renewable energy. The facility will also host a research and development facility for the development of new breeds of the plant.
The facility will open up 100s of new jobs for the area. Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio explained that the government supports the project and thinks it is “a big part of the future [of the area]”.
The majority of the marijuana produced at the facility will be distributed globally.
Image Pixabay
With calls for the medical drug to be legalised in Australia, the country could soon see itself as a key global production location. Two producers from Canada recently announced plans to turn Victoria into the medical marijuana hub of the southern hemisphere, and Cronos Australia announced that Victoria will host a new research and development centre for the drug.