Columbia Care to enter P.R. medicinal cannabis market
Columbia Care Inc. has received approval from the Puerto Rico Department of Health to open for business, with a medicinal cannabis dispensary in San Juan and 25,000 square-foot cultivation and manufacturing operation in Cidra.
The 2,800 square-foot San Juan clinic and its Cidra facility are scheduled to open this month, with two additional dispensaries expected to open by year’s end, company officials said.
“We’re thrilled to join the Puerto Rican community and be a part of its economic revival. Columbia Care continues to execute its national rollout strategy with Puerto Rico representing our 11th market launch in the U.S. and the fourth in the past 35 days (California, Florida, Ohio and Puerto Rico),” said Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vita.
“To address the specific needs of Puerto Rico’s fast-growing market, Columbia Care is leveraging its extensive operational experience and know-how to bring differentiated products to market as quickly as possible, offering patients access to a high-quality portfolio of cannabis-based medicines and producing meaningful wholesale and retail revenue almost immediately,” he said.
Columbia Care will offer consumer-oriented health and wellness products, as well as its portfolio of proprietary, precision dosed, pharmaceutical-quality medicines, all of which will be manufactured by its experts at the Cidra facility.
As part of its local incursion, Columbia Care has named Nicole Quiles-Alves as its market director.
“As a native of Puerto Rico, I’m proud to be leading Columbia Care’s entry into this key U.S. market,” said Quiles-Alves, a licensed pharmacist and former educator with 13 years of experience teaching at the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Pharmacy.
“I look forward to utilizing my extensive pharmaceutical services background to continue Columbia Care’s mission of improving lives through research, product innovation, and an approach centered wholly on patients’ health and well-being,” she said.
“Our staff is devoted to understanding and educating their patients as to the most effective cannabis-based medicines available to address their individual needs and I am confident in our ability to make a difference in the lives of patients and families from my community,” said Quiles-Alves.
