PharmaCielo Ltd. Goes Public as Canada Faces Uncertain Medical Cannabis Supply

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When the nationwide legalization of recreational <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;cannabis-control-law-canada&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">cannabis took effect in Canada last October<&sol;a>&comma; demand for medicinal cannabis increased due to concerns that recreational users would deplete the inventory&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">As a result&comma; Canadians rushed to purchase cannabis ahead of the new laws&comma; and now a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;globalnews&period;ca&sol;news&sol;4662574&sol;legal-marijuana-canada-shortage-cannabis-producers&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">majority of Canadian provinces<&sol;a> are experiencing significant cannabis supply shortages&comma; as the country’s licensed cannabis producers and distributors are struggling to keep up with demand&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Canadians who use cannabis for medical reasons are feeling the impact of the shortage the most&period;  The director of the Cannabis Council of Canada acknowledges the current issues&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Every time a patient is waiting&comma; that&&num;8217&semi;s a problem&comma;” says <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;cbc&period;ca&sol;news&sol;business&sol;medical-pot-shortages-1&period;4887318" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Allan Rewark&period;<&sol;a>  &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;However&comma; we&&num;8217&semi;re seeing adult consumer-use cannabis being repackaged and reallocated to ensure medicinal demand is met first&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Right now&comma; there are no regulations in place to guarantee supply to the medicinal market&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">There is likely a combination of factors that led to difficulties with the medicinal supply&comma; but mostly it comes down to production time&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Several warnings about a potential shortage of legal cannabis product were circulating in the media in the run-up to legalization&period; Analysis from the C&period;D&period; Howe Institute suggested that Canadian cannabis suppliers would only be able to fulfill between 30 and 60 percent of the anticipated demand for product based on reported production levels&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">However&comma; where some cannabis operations are struggling to keep up with the high demand&comma; Canadian-based <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;pharmacielo&period;com&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">PharmaCielo Ltd&period;<&sol;a>&comma; which went public in January this year and now trades on the TSXV under PCLO&comma;  is ahead of the curve with plans in the works to expand its medical cannabis production this year&period;  The company’s major growing operations are located in the prime-climate location of Colombia&comma; making it more feasible to grow cannabis outdoors for most of the year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Leaders of <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;newswire&period;ca&sol;news-releases&sol;pharmacielo-begins-trading-on-the-tsx-venture-exchange-under-ticker-pclo-865866610&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">PharmaCielo<&sol;a> say the company is ready to provide and export consistently high quality medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and is focused on expanding its current cultivation from 6&period;0 hectares of open-air greenhouse to approximately 20 hectares by the end of the year<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">PharmaCielo CEO <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;marketscreener&period;com&sol;PHARMACIELO-LTD-52089830&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">David Attard<&sol;a> adds&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We have constructed a platform with the sophistication and scale to rapidly become a value-added provider of cannabinoid inputs to some of the world’s largest organizations&period; Global&comma; consumer-facing companies are accustomed to supply chain partners that can provide inputs of consistently high quality&comma; in large volume&period; As the most sophisticated and scalable cannabis producer in South America&comma; PharmaCielo is ready to meet these requirements and to create significant value for shareholders and partners&comma; in the process&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>How long will the shortage last&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Since companies had to be sure that the Canadian Cannabis Act would be signed into law before moving forward with expensive projects&comma; most had to pump the breaks on capacity expansion&period; Thus&comma; cannabis production didn’t really kick into high gear until now&period;  That means it could take at least a year or more before cannabis farmers are operating at their full capacity&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">An interview with Khurram Malik&comma; the CEO of an Ontario-based cannabis company&comma; suggests that federal red tape could push this shortage into at least the next decade&period; In Malik&&num;8217&semi;s opinion&comma; possibly by 2020&comma; supply will be sufficient to meet demand&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;