A golden perspective on medical marijuana

According to a new report by Grand View Research, the size of the global legal Cannabis market is expected to reach US$66.3 billion by the end of 2025. It’s anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 23.9 percent during the forecast period with increasing legalisation and the use of marijuana in medical applications driving this growth.

Based on the extensive range of therapeutic benefits of Cannabis, ranging from pain and stress relief to effectively managing cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s, CBD has made its way into health supplements, oils, cosmetics and foodstuffs.

Major global investment

One of the first South African businesses to capitalise on the ‘green gold rush’ is CanbiGold. Based in the Western Cape, CanbiGold is a vertically integrated, private company that specialises in the cultivation and production of medicinal cannabis and related products utilising unique patented intellectual property. It has also developed unique modular growth units, which meet international ISO standards, allowing new or current ventures to scale up on growing, vegetation, flowering and drying modules as necessary.

CanbiGold’s cultivation occurs in the Maseru Special Economic Zone in Lesotho where the company has secured a significant portion of land, while R&D and the production of 99 percent CBD products take place in its Cape Town based laboratory, under pharmaceutical conditions.

Leon van der Linde, CEO of CanbiGold, says the past 12 months have been significant for the business. In November 2019, the company took part in The Cannabis Expo at the Sandon Convention Centre where it secured a whopping R600 million deal with Koomo Capital, an investment business from the US, and Canngea, Australia’s only medical cannabis licensed contract manufacturing organisation.

Innovation and R&D

CanbiGold is also making significant inroads in Cannabis-based nutraceutical and health and wellness product development. Van der Linde says the company played a pivotal role in the development of CBD-infused tampons to assist women with menstrual pain and cramping. Working with brand owner, Foxy Pink, the two companies developed the unique tampon, which is said to provide users with a soothing, tension-melting effect, delivering 10mg of CBD directly to the area where it’s needed most.

Additional R&D efforts of the company include blending African and Cannabis extracts together in nutraceutical formulations to help curb the symptoms of various ailments, including insomnia, IBS, crohn’s disease and colon cancer.

CanbiGold is also researching alternative ways to medicate with CBD such as inhalation, electronic cigarettes and absorption via the vaginal tract.