SMITHS FALLS, ON, Sept. 12, 2016 /CNW/ - Tweed Inc. (Tweed), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX:CGC), is
pleased to announce the completion of its state-of-the art cannabis
breeding facility within its Smiths
Falls, Ontario headquarters. It is believed to be the first
of its kind in the industry and will form the foundation of new
Canadian-bred genetics for Tweed and its customers.
Tweed has taken a major step towards evolving the way cannabis
is bred and selected for commercial sale. Working with the best
breeders in the world such as DNA Genetics and its own Master
Breeder, the company and its partners are now ready to embark on
the exciting journey of creating new proprietary genetics by
selecting male and female plants with desirable traits, and
breeding new strains under strict controls.
"With few exceptions – like Bedrocan Canada who obtained
world-class, standardized genetics from Dutch cannabis pioneer
Bedrocan Beheer BV – most Canadian producers including Tweed have
relied on starting from scratch using other people's genetics,"
said Mark Zekulin, President of
Canopy Growth Corporation. "For the past two years we have been
refining the phenotyping process to refine the best plants in our
genetic bank, and working with our partner DNA Genetics to enhance
our processes towards perfection. Now we're venturing into
unchartered territory by breeding our own strains, unique to Tweed
customers, and launching seed production for customers who choose
to explore growing at home."
Tweed's R&D capabilities have also evolved to service this
new approach. In-house researchers will soon be capable of
selecting seeds based on genetic traits in a lab rather than
growing them out and evaluating them as mature plants, a process
that can take years and occupies valuable production space.
"Around the world, the best breeders are more artists than
scientists," said Kevin Furet,
Tweed's Master Grower and Breeder. "I wouldn't say it's a
technologically advanced discipline. Until now it's been about
sight, smell, and instinct. We can still do all that but with the
new breeding facility we can reinforce and refine our decisions
with hard data from the lab. This is what the Tweed brand is all
about, driving quality and variety through innovation."
With the construction and installation complete, Health Canada
will be invited to inspect the new rooms before they are brought
online. Tweed's proprietary strains will be finalized by early
2018, with advance access to Tweed patients in 2017.
Here's to Future (Breeding and) Growth.
And here's a quick launch video.
About Tweed Inc.
Tweed is the most recognized marijuana production brand in the
world. It has built a large and loyal following by focusing on
quality products and meaningful customer relationships. Tweed
doesn't just sell marijuana, it facilitates a conversation about a
product we've all heard about but haven't met intimately yet.
Tweed production occurs across two distinct production sites.
Tweed Smiths Falls is housed in
the former Hershey Chocolate factory at 1 Hershey Drive, and
comprises 40 acres of land with over 460,000 sq. ft. of available
space. Tweed occupies 168,000 sq. ft. of licensed production space,
plus office space where Canopy's head office drives the vision
forward. It is a data-driven, automated and lean operation, housing
an R&D facility, oil extraction infrastructure, and in-house
lab. Precise climate controlled spaces for each stage of cannabis
production, from clone to cured bud, allows for the highest quality
and widest variety of product in the sector.
Tweed is partnered with some of the leading names in the sector
including legendary breeders DNA Genetics and iconic cannabis
connoisseur Snoop Dogg.
About Canopy Growth Corporation
Canopy Growth is publicly traded on the TSX-Venture exchange, and a
leading diversified producer of medical cannabis through its wholly
owned subsidiaries Tweed, Bedrocan Canada, and Tweed Farms. The
Company operates a collection of diverse brands and curated strain
variety, supported by over half a million square feet of indoor and
greenhouse production capacity.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but
not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use
of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is
expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases
or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Canopy Growth Corporation, Tweed
Inc., Tweed Farms Inc. or Bedrocan Canada Inc. to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements included in this news release are made
as of the date of this news release and Canopy Growth does not
undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking
statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or
otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Toronto Stock
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation