In 2016 Puerto Rico established a program for licensing commercial growers and sellers of medical cannabis. At the same time, the governor mandated that the island’s first dispensaries be operational by the end of that year, applying pressure on potential players to move efficiently through the critical start-up period. For NextGen Pharma, receiving their license late was not an option – they were determined to be a first-mover.
As a keynote speaker at a number of events each year, I was introduced to a Director of NextGen Pharma following my talk on “5 Key Factors for Cultivation Start-ups” in San Juan. In subsequent discussions we established that, if NextGen Pharma were to acquire a license and begin selling by year’s end, they would need some seasoned advice and an accelerated start-up schedule.
At the end of our project, NextGen Pharma successfully met their year-end timeline and became among the distinguished few on the island to sell medical cannabis. Throughout these crucial 6 months, I facilitated the following key items:
• Selected existing production site and designed the retrofit of the building.
• Provided required equipment lists to outfit the facility.
• Created comprehensive cultivation SOPs for application submission.
• Hired and trained a Cultivation Manager and cultivation team.
