HEMP or cannabis will be planted and processed for medicinal purposes in Laos following an agreement signed here recently.
Australian company Cann Global Asia (CGA) signed the deal with Sun Agriculture Promotion Industry and Commercial (SUN) to cultivate, purchase, process and retail hemp products.
The agreement will also see SUN, as the licence holder for the next 10 years in Laos, exporting hemp for CGA if need be, according to the Laotian Times.
Following the agreement which will take into effect by November, CGA, a subsidiary of Cann Global, will be sharing 10 percent of the gross profit from local sales or export of cannabidiol hemp with the SUN.
Hemp is a term used to classify varieties of cannabis that contain 0.3 percent or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content.
Cannabis plants with more than 0.3 percent THC are called marijuana. THC is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects.
Apart from Laos, CGA is currently seeking to work with companies with medical cannabis operation licenses in Thailand and Cambodia.
Vientiane Times had previously reported the the government has formed a task force to study on the potential of cannabis for medicinal use, led by Health Minister Dr Bounkong Syhavong.
This followed after the ministry submitted a proposal to build a hospital to treat cancer with traditional medicines extracted from cannabis and other natural herbs earlier this year.