Las Vegas hemp firm poised to make big splash in European CBD market

Published June 18, 2018

A Las Vegas-based hemp company is making a play for the booming European CBD market by buying a greenhouse near Valencia, Spain.

Freedom Leaf bought the 430,000-square-foot complex – formerly the largest poinsettia nursery in Europe – for 4.1 million euros ($4.75 million).

Hemp cultivation in Europe is generally limited to approved cultivars with a THC limit of 0.2%. That’s lower than the threshold in the U.S. and Canada, so CBD manufacturers looking to expand on the continent are increasingly seeking to grow the hemp there.

The company expects four harvests a year and has already planted about 100,000 hemp seedlings.

Freedom Leaf CEO Clifford Perry said his company already has orders for more than 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilograms) of European-certified hemp flower.

The company, which trades on over-the-counter markets as FRLF, owns several hemp companies, including Irie CBD and a line of vaporizers, extracts and pet products called Hempology.