Romania: American group to grow medical cannabis

The PHI Group, a U.S. investment fund specializing in natural resources and agriculture, plans to grow medical cannabis and other medicinal herbs in the Transylvania region, according to local media Profit.ro.

PHI estimates that the project will generate $150 million in revenue in 2019.

The group also plans to open a wellness center for people seeking natural and holistic treatments.

«In the greenhouses, the company will focus on organic and medicinal herbs such as the Cannabis, », reishi [a mushroom], bitter cucumber, saffron, and other herbs that can be used for medicinal purposes and command higher prices than other crops," said company representatives.

The American company will work in partnership with local firms and has acquired 51% from Maxagro, a Romanian agricultural company.

«We are grateful for the support and encouragement we have received from local and central government. Since the projects are considered to be green, », they are eligible for EU funding," explained Henry Fahman, CEO of the PHI Group.

The group has formed numerous partnerships with Asian producers of traditional medicines. Last November, it also signed a letter of intent for 80% to acquire a stake in one of Romania’s longest-standing suppliers of medical equipment and supplies. This supplier will now serve as a platform for distributing the medicines developed by the PHI Group’s partners to European and Middle Eastern markets.

The medical marijuana is legal in Romania in the form of derivatives (tinctures, resins, or plant fragments) and to treat conditions such as pain in cancer patients, epilepsy, or multiple sclerosis, but no cannabis-based medications are produced there, and no company had applied to market medical cannabis until now.

Romania already grows a lot of industrial hemp, with the help of foreign companies such as HempFlax, which invested 5 million euros in 2015 to boost the local market.