Cronos Group (CRON.T) launched its Peace Naturals brand in pharmacies throughout Israel through their subsidiary Cronos Israel yesterday, according to a press release.

The subsidiary’s operations include cultivation and production of Peace Naturals products at their facilities at Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, in Israel. Presently, Cronos Israel only sells dried flower in the medical market, but anticipates the adding cannabis oils and prerolls to that list in the future.

“We are very excited to be launching in the Israeli market and bringing high-quality medical products to patients. Israel has done a tremendous job creating a viable and successful cannabis market. There is a focus on improving and expediting the patient access process for medical cannabis. The cannabis usage rate in Israel is among the highest in the world, and the medical patient count in Israel is expected to increase rapidly, which represents an excellent opportunity for our business to grow in this market,” said Mike Gorenstein, executive chairman of Cronos Group.

Cronos Israel maintains consistency by importing both dried flower and cannabis plant cuttings from Canada. The facility operates independent crop cycles conforming to the product characteristics the company sells in Canada and Germany, and which products are sold in Australia by the investee, Cronos Australia.

Founded in 2018, Cronos Israel has established its facilities, and retrieved the required IMC-GAP, IMC-GMP and IMC-GDP certifications to cultivate, produce and market dried flower, prerolls and oil drops in Israel. The facilities were built to the same standards as the rest of global facilities, and at times exceeding standards pushed by the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency.

“The intensive work that went into building our cultivation facility and production line resulted in our ability to grow and produce a high-quality product, based on the unique genetics that have been popular with patients in other parts of the world. Canada’s innovation and professional expertise, alongside our wonderful team here, have helped us create a product that we are proud of. We are excited to take part in revolutionizing the medical cannabis sector in Israel,” said Rani Gorelik, general manager of Cronos Israel.

—Joseph Morton