Medical cannabis producer Highlands Investments from Lesotho secured the sale of 8.5 tonnes of pure cannabis flowers for the European market that will be shipped to Macedonia. The shipment is believed to be the world’s largest single legal cannabis export to date.
In July, Macedonia endorsed a draft law on the control of narcotic drugs, which allows the export of dried cannabis flowers in line with EU rules. Skopje is developing a medical cannabis industry and the government is considering legalising the drug to encourage hospitality and tourism too.
“The size of the shipment, which is enough to fill almost four 40 foot containers, required a chartered plane to transport to Macedonia,” the company's managing director Mark Corbett said in a press release published by PR Newswire last week.
Highlands cultivates, processes and packages high-quality THC and CBD cannabis flower for the production of medical grade cannabis products.
“We believe this to be one of the largest legal shipments of medical grade cannabis to date and is a significant milestone for our business,” the company said.
Highlands said that this shipment follows a previously successful shipment of 176.5kg of THC flower exported to Europe in April, without specifying the name of the recipient country.
The company said that according to official reports, the European cannabis market is forecast to reach $3.8bn by 2025.
The news that a major cannabis flower shipment was intended for North Macedonia was published by local media on August 18, according to which the deal is worth $85mn.