Australia has become one of the fastest growing markets in the world for medicinal cannabis since it was legalised in the country - with more than a million people currently using it.
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00:00 These workers are harvesting medicinal cannabis at one of the very few outdoor growing sites
00:10 in Australia.
00:12 Once harvested, the sun-grown crop is dried indoors before it's ready for processing.
00:20 This is Medtech Farmers' secure facility in South Australia's Riverland region, one of
00:26 the country's biggest cannabis farms.
00:34 Managing Director Brad Gallard says it's taken five years to get here and he's yet to make
00:40 a cent.
00:41 Even though the plant does grow fast, it's been a long journey to get to this point.
00:45 But exciting now, we're pulling down and we're going all down into the clean rooms and preparing
00:50 the product, ready to be packed to go out to pharmacies.
00:52 So we're certainly excited about this point in time.
00:56 These will be eight weeks in flower, high THC strain.
01:00 The third generation citrus grower is convinced his foray into medicinal cannabis will pay
01:06 off.
01:08 Less than six months ago, this facility was just a patch of soil after citrus trees were
01:15 cleared.
01:16 The plants that we're standing next to here, I think, went in about 21st of December.
01:20 They're a very aggressive growing plant.
01:21 They're fed right.
01:22 We are all organic here too.
01:24 We're feeding them a lot with organic pretty much every day.
01:26 You know, obviously the sunlight here, the heat, they, you know, you keep the water up.
01:30 They also love the heat, but as long as you keep the water up.
01:33 We still, we were chasing our tail a little bit.
01:35 We didn't have irrigation in here in November.
01:37 So it was game on since, since we got our license and approvals, you know, in September.
01:48 The region is better known for citrus and wine grapes, but with the wine industry in
01:54 crisis due to an oversupply, it's seen as vital that new industries like this develop
02:00 to provide new opportunities for the area to diversify.
02:08 Australia has one of the fastest growing medicinal cannabis markets in the world, but only about
02:13 50 licensed growers.
02:18 Research scientist and industry advocate, Emily Rigby, launched the Australian Cannabis
02:23 Cultivators Group last year to help producers grow the domestic supply.
02:28 I think there's a huge potential for us around Australia and because we're able to provide
02:36 jobs, I really think we do need to see the government get a little bit more behind the
02:40 Australian industry to help this emerging industry while we are learning and while we've
02:46 got competition from imports.
02:48 But I think Australia has got a really great position if it's done in a clever way with
02:53 efficient production methods.
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