
World first cannabis research a 'game-changer' for city
THE company behind a proposed $500 million medicinal cannabis farm in Wellcamp has partnered with the University of Queensland for a major research project.
Vancouver-based Asterion Cannabis said the 18-month program will look at elite selections of cannabis plants to enable high volume and uniform plant cultivation to serve a growing demand for medicinal cannabis products.
When built, the facility on Toowoomba's outskirts will be the biggest medicinal cannabis farm in the world, churning out more than 500,000kg of product a year.
The company previously told The Chronicle it plans to export the Wellcamp-grown cannabis to North America and Europe, though would not rule out selling in Australia down the track.
Asterion chairman and CEO Stephen Van Deventer called the research program a "game-changer" and president Paget Hargeaves claimed the program would help implement the company's plans at Wellcamp.
"We look forward to this world-leading research now commencing and to applying its results and outcomes within Asterion's proposed advanced cultivation, research and processing facility," Mr Hargreaves said.