Nearly six years have passed since Uruguay became the first country in the world to regulate cannabis in all its uses from the State and, recently, the government established the conditions to further develop medicinal treatments.

Now, the investors who bet on the small South American country intend to turn it into an exporting nation. Silverpeak Life Sciences Uruguay Inc. is one of the largest companies in the new medical marijuana industry. It is expecting to raise $ 35 million this year from bankers and investors in order to quadruple its production and build a bigger extraction laboratory by 2020, according to its CEO Jordan Lewis.

He stated that they are planning to expand its production up to 25 tons in 2020, quantity that would generate the company over $100 million dollars in revenue.

The Uruguayan wholly-owned subsidiary of Silverpeak, Fotmer Corporation SA, has asked the cannabis regulatory agency IRCCA to increase its annual production permit to 400 tons of cannabis flowers, according to Bloomberg.

The company will need to raise approximately 150 million dollars between 2020 and 2023, possibly from the public capital markets or through a "strategic alliance" with a larger corporation. This would happen only if cannabis product´s demand justifies increasing flower production at that level, according to Lewis.

Silverpeak and its rival ICC Labs, which was purchased last year for 217 million dollars by Aurora Cannabis, one of the most valuable cannabis companies in Canada, are among the few companies that have invested money in Uruguay, targeting greenhouses and laboratories of extraction with the objective of supplying medicinal cannabis to Latin America, Europe and Canada.

This year could mark the beginning of exports on a commercial scale, as producers seek commercial permits and product certifications.

The first nation to legalize

Uruguay, a small country located between Brazil and Argentina, has not yet had the important investments that drove the cannabis industry in the United States and Canada, despite having become the first nation to legalize marijuana in 2013.

IRCCA approved projects by a value of 57 million dollars from 2015 and other permits for 21 projects are currently being reviewed for an approximate value of 40 million dollars. It plans to increase the number of certified producers that supply marijuana to pharmacies, going from two to five this year.

The pace of investment could change, as large cannabis growers in North America begin to consider Uruguay as a destination, according to Lewis. Uruguay could become the first country to reach 1,000 million dollars per year in exports of medicinal cannabis products in just five years, as long as the companies receive enough government support, Lewis said.

A 100-million-dollar industry for now

"As early as next year, it could be an industry of more than 100 million dollars. Based only on our projections and taking into account some of the other companies." Lewis said in an interview at Fotmer's office near Montevideo.

Lewis, who is also an investor in a Colorado cannabis business, founded Silverpeak, based in British Columbia. Fotmer built 18 greenhouses and a small extraction laboratory with $ 7 million committed by Silverpeak (click here).

Silverpeak's estimated harvest of 6 tons this year could generate up to $ 40 million in revenue. Provided that Fotmer obtains permits to send cannabis flowers and other small amounts of CBD and THC extracts to Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Jordan Lewis is a Doctor of Veterinary. His medicine knowledge allowed him to learn the therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis, which hadn´t been deeply explored.

The Fotmer project, which is happening, will require an investment of 15 million and has almost 200 workers and contractors, said Lewis. For the CEO of the company, Uruguay generated a "great opportunity" for the development of the cannabis industry when it became the first country to regularize the market.

He stressed that the country has trained professionals and qualified workforce for a venture like Fotmer, considered "a great initiative that is currently going through a crucial stage that can be vital for the Uruguayan economy in the coming decades."

Lewis agreed with the rest of the businessmen, stressing that all the industry needs is "continuous support from the State", which allows it to grow along with the global industry.

Uruguay "has been a visionary" and now "the market is growing", which is why the country - where recreational drugs are sold in pharmacies - can make a point in medicinal cannabis production, explains the businessman.

The entire process follows specific protocols to supply the pharmaceutical industry, which is, Lewis explains, the main destination of its flower and extract production.

"Our goal is to become a leading supplier of cannabis for medical use" taking advantage of the legal and institutional advantages offered by Uruguay.