CANOPY TO BUILD U.S. POT PLANT

Canopy Growth Corp. will spend as much as US$150 million to build its first production facility in the U.S. after the Canadian pot company was granted a hemp licence by New York state. The U.S. farm bill legalized hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol last month, creating a rush among Canadian pot firms that were previously unable to enter the U.S. market. Canopy said Monday it’s been granted a licence by New York to process and produce hemp and plans to establish a hemp industrial park in the state focused on extraction and product manufacturing. The company intends to invest between US$100 million and US$150 million in its New York operations, calling it “another example of the strategic advantage” resulting from Constellation Brands Inc.’s recent US$4billion investment in the firm. Canopy is looking at several sites in the Southern Tier region of New York.