Highlights:
- Regulatory approvals in place for high CBD hemp strains.
- Land package for dedicated CBD hemp flower production.
- Commencement of outdoor hemp growing season.
- CBD extraction laboratory and quality assurance through GMP and GAP.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ICC International Cannabis Corporation (“ICC” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:ICC), a fully licensed producer and distributor of recreational cannabis and cannabinoid extracts used for medicinal purposes, is pleased to provide an update on its cannabinoid business segment.
“ICC continues to hit its strategic milestones both within its medicinal and nutraceutical cannabinoid business segment. We are delighted with our progress to date and are happy to report that ICC is expected to begin planting over 400 acres of its first outdoor hemp crop in October 2017,” stated Alejandro Antalich, Chief Executive Officer of ICC.
REGULATORY APPROVAL – HIGH CBD HEMP STRAINS:
ICC is uniquely positioned as a low cost global producer of cannabinoid extracts, including cannabidiol (“CBD”), as a result of its operations being based in Uruguay. Uruguay provides ICC with material production cost advantages, as it is a jurisdiction with ample sunlight, low cost skilled agricultural labour, and a regulatory framework that allows for cultivation of hemp with flowers containing CBD concentrations exceeding 10%.
ICC recently received regulatory approval from the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fishery to import two strains of hemp with CBD flower content exceeding 10%. The authorization also permits the Company to sow, harvest and export the CBD oils, CBD extracts, and pure CBD crystals produced from these two strains. The Company intends to produce and export high quality CBD extracts and crystal compounds to the growing medicinal and nutraceutical markets globally where lawful.
“The Company’s recently reported a target CBD dried flower annual production capacity of 160 tonnes using the Helena hemp strain. With the introduction of two new high CBD strains, the Company is optimistic that it can now significantly increase its CBD extracts yield,” commented Alejandro Antalich, Chief Executive Officer of ICC.
LAND PACKAGE FOR HEMP PRODUCTION:
ICC currently has three growing areas dedicated to medicinal hemp production. The Canelones Site situated 41km northeast of Montevideo, Uruguay, hosts both a 21,528 square foot indoor hemp greenhouse facility and an outdoor land package of 67 acres, which is intended to be exclusively dedicated to hemp crop cultivation. The Company’s Flores Site is located 236km northwest of Montevideo, Uruguay, and, at approximately 500 acres, is the largest government approved outdoor growing land package for hemp cultivation in South America.
The hemp growing season in Uruguay generally commences in October and ends in April of the following year. The Company’s hemp growing strategy is split into three phases. Firstly, indoor planting commenced in July 2017 at the 21,528 square foot greenhouse on the Canelones Site and is expected to yield 150kg of dried CBD flowers, which will be harvested in late November 2017.
A file accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/717bc540-6a35-450a-82ee-9e6d5f46556e
The second phase of hemp planting will occur on the 67 acre outdoor portion of the Canelones Site. Planting is expected to commence in October 2017 and is expected to yield 27 tonnes of dried CBD flowers once harvesting commences in April 2018.
A file accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/51965868-065d-47bf-8faf-bd0cdb18eb51
The third phase of hemp planting will occur at ICC’s new 500 acre outdoor location at the Flores Site. Planting is expected to commence in October 2017 over approximately 333 acres, and is expected to yield 130 tonnes of dried CBD flowers once harvesting commences in April 2018.
A file accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63ecdbc0-7ad8-48c0-b7a9-7a5f14f1cc39
CBD EXTRACTION LABORATORY CONSTRUCTION:
ICC is continuing construction of the first CBD extraction laboratory in South America using the supercritical fluid CO2 extraction technique with state-of-the-art equipment. The facility is expected to be completed in April 2018, and to have annual capacity to process 50 tonnes of hemp flower into CBD extract. The extraction laboratory is being built in Uruguay’s “Science Park Free Trade Zone”, which is situated in an area over 16,146 square feet. The extraction and laboratory facility is expected to be operative concurrently with the hemp harvests expected in April 2018.
A file accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d431cb16-7495-45d1-9fec-258cef29ed33
QUALITY ASSURANCE – GMP AND GAP STANDARDS:
ICC is committed to complying with international Good Manufacturing Practices (“GMP”), and the CBD extraction laboratory has been planned (architecture, blue prints and schematics) to meet these high requirement standards. GMP is a standards system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to strict and high quality standards. It is designed to minimize the risks involved in any pharmaceutical production that cannot be eliminated through testing the final product. GMP covers all aspects of production from the starting materials, premises, and equipment to the training and personal hygiene of staff. Detailed, written procedures are essential for each process that could affect the quality of the finished product. There must be systems to provide documented proof that correct procedures are consistently followed at each step in the manufacturing process - every time a product is made.
ICC is also committed to complying with Good Agricultural Practices (“GAP”) requirements. All recreational products from ICC’s greenhouses are grown under GAP standards and under strict regulatory and technical supervision, where site conditions, production methods, product traceability and quality control standards have been approved by IRCCA and authorized by the Ministry of Health. Product tracking and supply chain traceability systems are completed and in use.
ABOUT ICC INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS CORPORATION
The Company has operations in Uruguay, and is focused on the licensed production, development and sale of recreational cannabis, cannabinoid extracts and other derivatives used for medicinal purposes and industrial hemp. For more information, please see the Company’s filings on www.sedar.com and www.intcannabiscorp.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including the Company’s ability to obtain any requisite regulatory approvals, to meet GMP or GAP requirements and risks inherent in an agricultural business. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulators, and are available at www.sedar.com.
For more information, please contact:
ICC International Cannabis Corporation
Alejandro Antalich, Chief Executive Officer
t: 598-2900-0000
e: ir@intcannabiscorp.com
Bill Mitoulas, Investor Relations
t: 416-479-9547
e: billm@intcannabiscorp.com