Greenergy eyes cannabis oil business after Australia OKs over-the-counter sales

Publicly listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. is seen to benefit from the Australian government’s recent landmark decision allowing over-the-counter sale of cannabidiol or CBD oil, a natural medicinal remedy derived from cannabis.

This development bodes well for the holding firm of businessman Antonio Tiu, which last year acquired a 50-percent stake in Australia’s Yakuru Group, a company engaged in the medical cannabis business.

In an interview with ANC’s Market Edge last week, Tiu said Greenergy wanted to be the first to bring in CBD oil to the Philippine market as soon as Congress approved a measure allowing the use of medicinal marijuana in the country.

“I invested in this project because I believe in its medicinal value,” he said. “We are not into recreational marijuana, but only for medicinal purposes.”At present, both chambers of Congress are pushing for the measure, which also has the support of prominent political personalities including former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“We want to be the first mover [in medical marijuana] in the Philippines,” said Tiu, who is also an advocate of eastern medicine, environment sustainability and green technology.

As soon as the Philippines allows the use of CBD oil, Tiu said Greenergy and the Yakuru Group were ready to bring this product to the local market.

The Philippine Cannabis Compassion Society is pushing for the legalization of the use of CBD oil in the Philippines. The group includes individuals and families dealing with serious illnesses and conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, down syndrome, among others whose effects and symptoms can be managed with the help of CBD oil.

In Australia, the benefits of CBD oil have been widely publicized with studies showing that it also has immune boosting properties which can greatly aid individuals and patients especially amidst the COVID-19 global health pandemic.

Published articles also point to researchers in Austria’s Klagenfurt Clinic as having reported promising results from CBD trials on COVID-19 ICU (Intensive care unit) patients who have shown reduced inflammation and quicker recovery times.

Tiu said Greenergy continued to evolve with a wide array of businesses being considered for acquisition and investments such as in the Yakuru Group, food and agriculture, banking and finance, real estate development and construction, renewable energy, technology, information technology and retail.

This is consistent with his plan of creating an ecosystem of businesses that would maximize opportunities for growth, enhance shareholder value and more importantly, help meet the needs of Filipino consumers especially during the pandemic. INQ