North Macedonia Growing License
Average THC levels in standard and premium plants
Why Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification is Important
News Article: North Macedonia Grower with GMP Certification Receives Export License
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's (EMCDDA's) European Drug Report 2023: Trends and Developments
United Nations 2022: World Drug Supply and Demand, Market Trends: Cannabis & Opioids and Herbal Cannabis Global Price Chart
Advanced Technology, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certified, Cannabis-Growing-for-Export Facility in Skopje, North Macedonia, Europe
With a Cannabis Growing License and Certification
That Allows it to Sell Worldwide to Nearly 50 Non-U.S. Countries
with 1 Billion People
An advanced technology cannabis growing facility (see why it is so advanced below) located in the European country of North Macedonia, which was designed by a U.S. construction firm owner and hydroponics greenhouse innovator, has received a cannabis-growing-for-export license.
The growing license was approved by the North Macedonia Legislature at the beginning of December 2023 and issued on December 21, 2023, by the Ministry of Health, which oversees cannabis cultivation, processing, and sale in North Macedonia. It is the only growing license issued by North Macedonia in 2023.
See (1) the North Macedonia Ministry of Health's decision on December 12, 2023 to issue the growing license (2) the growing license that was issued to Gold Leaf Europe LLC on December 21, 2023 and (3) the public announcement on January 16, 2024 by the Ministry of Health of issuance of the growing license (all of which are in Macedonian along with their official English translations).
The facility was built in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) pharmaceutical standards, allowing it to export to all non-U.S. countries worldwide where medicinal and recreational cannabis is legal: a total of 46 countries with a combined population exceeding 1 billion people. It will be one of only three GMP-certified growing facilities in North Macedonia.
See Why GMP Certification is Important and a news article about the PharmaCann GMP growing facility: North Macedonia Grower Receives Export License (click "I already am a subscriber" if you encounter a pop-up) which also has a North Macedonia growing license and is exporting its products as a result of being GMP certified.
Cannabis plant grown with Sigma Plant Sciences' advanced technology red-specrturm grow lights
Cannabis plant grown in the same facility at the same time under the same conditions using standard grow lights
A United Kingdom (UK)-based London-Stock-Exchange-traded company, Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (HUI), exercised its option at the beginning of January 2024 to acquire a 49% stake in a North Macedonia cannabis growing facility (Ohrid Organics). It will make the upgrades and modifications necessary to obtain a GMP certification, at which point it will be able to sell into the UK, European Union, South African, South American, Canadian, and Australian markets. See the January 2, 2024 article about HUI's acquisition.
The wholesale price for high quality cannabis ranges from a little less than $2,000 per pound upward. In several European countries, including Norway, Sweden, and Austria, the wholesale price is slightly above $3,600 per pound. In Germany, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis on April 1, 2024, the wholesale price for high quality flower is $6,800 per pound.
Germany is the fourth and most-recent European country to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, following behind Malta, Luxembourg, and Georgia.
Twenty European countries have legalized the use of medicinal cannabis. Pilot programs in Switzerland and The Netherlands allow the use of recreational cannabis from selected points of sale.
Seven countries -- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, and Estonia -- have decimalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis for "personal use."
Several other European countries, including the UK, France, Spain, Czechoslovakia, and Switzerland are considering the legalization of recreational cannabis.
Hence, the sale of both medicinal and recreational cannabis in Europe is poised to greatly expand within the next few years.
A major pharmaceutical firm has expressed interest in buying the Gold Leaf Europe’s entire output, on the condition that cuttings from the commercial operation replicate the test results from the project’s pilot plant. See Laboratory Test Results.
Please note: the THC levels in these test results -- 27.3901% -- are extremely high. See the article about the average THC levels in standard and premium plants; 15% is standard; premium is 17% in Europe; indoor grown plants in the U.S. are 17%-20%.
Also, see the two photos above showing the growth comparison between the use of standard growing lights vs. Gold Leaf Europe's advanced technology lights developed by the project developer and company principle that were tested by a major U.S. grower with plants grown in the same facility under the same conditions at the same time.
Gold Leaf Europe is seeking a commitment for the remaining $1,600,000 to purchase and install the balance of equipment for the Phase 1 facility (of four planned phases), place the facility in operation, and cover its first years of operating costs.
Earnings will be generated beginning approximately 6 months after the remaining equipment is ordered, with earnings continuing every 8 weeks for the next four years to reach a projected return in excess of nine times the initial investment (see Project Plan and Financial Highlights