Aurora Cannabis receives license for outdoor growing sites

Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis has announced the receipt of licenses from Health Canada for cultivation at two outdoor sites.

The sites, located in Lachute, Quebec and Westwold, British Columbia are said to be intended for use as cultivation research, with the sites chosen for their different growing environments. By developing new technology, genetics and intellectual property and researching new cultivation techniques, the company hopes to be able to sustainably grow improved cannabis in varying conditions.

Dr. Jonathan Page, Chief Science Officer at Aurora said: "For this season and next, our focus will be on researching cultivation methods and evaluating genetics in order to produce high THC and CBD cannabis in outdoor-grown plants, with the ultimate goal of extracting these components. The unique climates of each site also presents a great opportunity to determine which cultivars will perform best in different outdoor environments."

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The Westwold facility will be named Aurora Valley and occupy 207 acres. The 21,000 sq ft Aurora Eua facility in Lachute has already been planted, and is the first approved outdoor cannabis growing location in Quebec.

"Aurora believes in innovative operations and intensive research and we're applying our approach to outdoor grown cannabis," said Aurora CEO Terry Booth. "Our team plans to use these areas to ensure we are able to consistently grow the high-quality cannabis Aurora has become known for around the world. We're proud to be a Canadian company and this is a further commitment to research and job creation in Canada."