Liberty Health Expands Florida Market Reach

A cannabis operator in the US market announced on Tuesday (August 7) to shareholders it will increase its production capacity of cannabis in the state of Florida.

Liberty Health Sciences (CSE:LHS) offered an update to investors revealing it obtained permission to begin the production at its touted 360 Campus facility, despite a current retrofit taking place.

The company estimates it will increase its production capacity to nearly 225,000 square feet by early 2019 after completing the retrofit program which will add 80,000 square feet of production.

George Scorsis, CEO of Liberty Health said this new expansion, located in Gainesville, is a direct response from the company to the increased demand of medical cannabis in the state.

As part of the expansion, Liberty Health will also set up five new medical centers across the state and announced all of its delivery hub services will have a turnaround of 24 hours or less across the state.

Users of Liberty Health will now get text message alerts when the delivery is near them, similar to modern food delivery apps. Liberty Health says this strategy will keep customers informed, improve on the delivery anticipation and reduce failed deliveries.

The 360 Campus facility from Liberty Health will add the production capacity for the company from a current 21,200 square feet to 41,200.

Florida market gains steam among cannabis operators

The southern state legalized cannabis for medical use in 2017 after a successful vote in the 2016 election ballot. Momentum for a recreational vote for the state is increasing as well.

According to iAnthus Capital Holdings’ (CSE:IAN), another cannabis operator with assets in Florida reported in its first quarter 2018 results $15,783 in revenue, as it was the first quarter the company was available in the state.

The cannabis operator signed leases for a total aggregate retail space of 13,500 square feet across four cities in Florida.

In July, Scythian Biosciences (TSXV:SCYB) revealed its intentions to enter the Florida market as well thanks to the acquisition of CanCure Investments, a company in the process of acquiring a stake in Florida producer 3 Boys Farms.

Scythian’s CEO, Rob Reid, said in the statement he viewed Florida as one of the “largest and fastest growing” medical cannabis market in the US.

The move from Scythian will cause the company to migrate its stock from the TSX Venture Exchange (CSE) into the more US-favorable Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE).

Investor takeaway

Stock for Liberty Health closed at a price of C$0.85 per share during Tuesday’s s trading session, indicating a 3.66 percent increase in value.

Fellow active Florida operator iAnthus reacted positively today with a 1.98 percent increase in value to its stock, reaching a closing price of C$7.22.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.