Pot for Pups: Hemp Dog-Treat Maker Expands to Medical Marijuana

A Canadian dog-treat maker wants to produce a different kind of munchie.

True Leaf Medicine International Ltd., a small firm that currently produces hemp-based dog chews, is expanding into the nation’s fast-emerging marijuana industry. The company will start building a pot production facility in Lumby, British Columbia, next month after raising C$14 million ($11 million) through equity crowdfunding and non-brokered private placement, said Chief Executive Officer Darcy Bomford.

With plans to start selling medicinal marijuana for humans as early as this fall, a portion of the funds raised will also be used to explore how to use cannabidiol, a cannabis compound without psychoactive properties, in medicinal products for dogs, Bomford said in a telephone interview.

“Ultimately, we want to be able to produce oil and extract all” of the plants’ active ingredients and “reincorporate them into finished medicinal products” for people and their pets, he said.

True Leaf is the latest player looking to expand its footprint in Canada’s burgeoning marijuana market as the country moves toward legalization this year. There are now at least 84 publicly-traded cannabis companies listed on the nation’s exchanges and their combined market value has ballooned to more than C$36.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

— With assistance by Doug Alexander