Village Farms International’s (VFF.T) Netherland’s based cannabis subsidiary, DutchCanGrow (DCG), did not receive one of the ten cannabis production licenses under the Dutch government’s 10 city experiment to investigate cannabis supply chains, according to a press release.

DCG was placed in eighth position on a waiting list for a licence after a random draw. Applicants lucky enough to be picked in the top ten positions were subject to a thorough review of their business and personnel under the Public Administration (Probity Screening) Act, which is expected to be finished in eight to 12 weeks.

“We are extremely proud that DCG was one of only 40 applicants out of a total of nearly 150 to even be considered for a production licence, and await the outcome of the rigorous and extensive review of the initial 10 applicants drawn in the lottery. Village Farms undertook this process with the understanding that the licences would be awarded based on merit, not a random draw. We believe we would be a significant contributor to the success of the WECG, providing safe, premium-quality, legally-grown cannabis in the Netherlands,” said Michael DeGiglio, chief executive officer of Village Farms International.

Village Farms is one of six equal shareholders in DutchCanGrow, each owning under 16% each, with a seventh shareholder owning 5%.

—Joseph Morton