Master Med Cannabis, a medical cannabis company, will invest 9.5 million euros (ME) and will employ about 55 people by the end of 2024 in Penel, Coimbra district.
The company, founded in April 2019, is building a plant dedicated solely to “cultivating” cannabis for medical purposes, with the goal of “helping people with serious illnesses,” the chief executive told Lusa on Thursday. Miguel Nobrega Gouveia.
The 60,000 square meter plant, located in the city of Infesto in Penela, has an investment of 6.5 million euros and is due to be completed in November this year.
By the end of 2024, a further three million euros are planned for the purchase of land for cannabis cultivation without natural light, as well as for cooperation with Habitat de Inovação Empresarial nos Setores Estratégicos (HIESE), a rural-focused incubator in Penela. innovation and the University of Coimbra (UC).
“Initially planned [empregar] from 24 to 28 people, and by the end of 2024, employment of 55 people is expected,” said Miguel Nobrega Gouveia.
Between the end of September and mid-October, the company plans to hire five or six more “part-time” people to “help with the harvest.”
The climate, location, as well as the support of the Penela city council, namely the speed of the processes, were the factors that determined the choice of this location for the plant.
Miguel Nóbrega Gouveia also noted that another idea is to establish a clinic in Penela by the end of 2023, which aims to inform citizens about the benefits of the plant and which will sell cannabis-based products without a doctor’s prescription.
This clinic, with a budget of about 350,000 euros, will be staffed by a doctor, a nurse and a receptionist.
This space will serve as a “health house” where a doctor can prescribe medication so that the user can later purchase it from a pharmacy.
The CEO of Master Med Cannabis also intends to create an association with companies licensed to grow cannabis in Portugal, of which there are currently 18 according to Miguel Nobrega Gouveia.
The idea is to “give a primary voice to cannabis cultivation” to liaise with the government and, for example, with INFARMED – the National Medicines and Health Products Administration.
Another goal is to exchange experience and knowledge about the plant with members of the association.