A medical marijuana company preparing to join the Australian sharemarket hopes to introduce products to New Zealand as laws permitting wider use of marijuana are introduced.
Cannabis plants in Uruguay on 15 December 2014. Photo: AFP
Perth-based Phytotech Medical will also target regulated medical cannabis markets in the US, Canada, Israel and Europe.
The company wants to raise more than $6 million to work with farmers in the US and Uruguay to set up indoor and outdoor marijuana crops.
"Phytotech will be Australia's first ASX-listed medical cannabis company and is strategically positioned to be the company of choice in the field," the company said ahead of its market debut on Thursday.
However, it could be some time before the company grows and sells products in Australia, as debate around the merits of medical marijuana continue to rage.
New South Wales is spending nearly $10 million on three trials for medicinal cannabis to treat terminally ill patients, children with epilepsy and cancer patients with chemotherapy-related nausea.
The state government has indicated it could grow its own cannabis crop if it is unable to overcome logistical hurdles in importing cannabis products from Europe or the US.
- AAP