A Canadian medical cannabis and wellness company has been given the green light to begin processing and exporting cannabis flower across Europe.

Materia has been awarded its European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU GMP) certification from the Malta Medicines Authority, becoming only the third company to achieve the coveted gold standard.

The company will now be able to export product into large markets, such as Germany, which the company is very much focused on entering.

“The reality is Germany is larger as a market today than all other European markets combined… For us, Germany is markets one, two and three,” Nick Pateras, managing director for Europe, said.

Other key countries included in the distribution network include the United Kingdom and Denmark.

“Becoming EU GMP certified in Malta represents our most significant milestone since we embarked on this project over two years ago,” said Deepak Anand, CEO of Materia.

“We are excited to turn the engine on and showcase the full potential of a Malta-based cannabis processor to the industry, especially global partners seeking access to the European market,” he continued.

Speaking to Lovin Malta, Anand confirmed that cannabis will not be grown in Malta, but simply manufactured and packaged here after being imported from abroad.

However, he confirmed the company was “certainly interested in the local medical market”.

Beyond medical, Anand said he was “cautiously optimistic’ to see the progress on the island; just recently, the government ended a public consultation period over a white paper proposing a raft of reforms, and the Labour Party itself has called for full legalisation.

“Malta has still taken steps which are leaps and bounds ahead of much larger European nations,” Anand noted.

Materia currently has a facility based in the Ħal-Far industrial estate.

Do you think Malta’s medical industry is set to take off?