Investments in hemp, pharmaceutical cannabis taking off

Talking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA), Sarmazanidis said the investment may well end up being higher since the budget for some factories had yet to be finalised, while the estimated new jobs did not include the knock-on benefits for farmers.
A subsidiary of Golden Greece Holdings, Cannatec has already signed agreements with European companies for the sale of its products - including car-makers Mercedes who use industrial hemp to construct vehicle parts.
The first processing plant will be based in Kilkis, on a five-hectare farm that has already been acquired, and is scheduled to be completed in April or May 2019, Sarmazanidis said. It will be built with a Greek-Israeli consortium able to supply the specialised machinery required, with an initial budget of 150 million euros and a business plan envisaging the investment of an additional 350 million over three years.
After Kilkis, another four consortiums operating under Golden Greece Holdings are planning further cannabis production investments in Polykastro (70 million euros), Lagada (15 million euros) and Veria (20 million euros) with plans for a further plant in Kavala were close to being finalised.
While many Greek farmers are currently adopting a "wait-and-see" attitude to the cultivation of cannabis, he added, it would soon become clear that the recently-passed law allowing its cultivation would solve many problems currently facing farmers.
Sarmazanidis pointed out that use of industrial hemp has been recorded in more than 200 products, while Cannatec will start off with 70 products codes that will include foods, construction materials and vehicle parts.
"We already have a business plan under which we will have paper made of Greek industrial hemp in three months. The quantity of paper produced by 1000 square metres of industrial hemp in a month is produced by 4,000 square metres of trees that need 40 years to grow. You appreciate that we will achieve a reduction in the cost of paper of at least 70 pct," he noted.
Meanwhile, the first industrial hemp crop has been harvested in Imathia in an area ideal for growing the cannabis plant. According to Cannatec Greece agricultural scientist Antonis Tsitoudis, farming cannabis is not especially demanding, with a harvest produced in just three months, though the plants need plenty of water in the initial stages.
Only the seeds are harvested and dried, while the remainder of the plant stays on the field to act as fertiliser for the next crop. The seeds yield an oil rich in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and the rest of the seed can be ground into flour for many different uses. The oil also contains non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) which is effective in alleviating symptoms of certain ailments, including epilepsy seizures and pain in multiple sclerosis.
Samples are checked for levels of the psychotropic substances in cannabis, which must be less than 0.2 pct or else the entire crop is destroyed by a committee.