Our team of advisors are dedicated to business development, planning, regulatory, financial and operational services in Portugal. We can advise you on everything from genetics sourcing cultivation, security and facility design, quality assurance, regulatory licensing and business planning. We also provide recruitment services to help find, hire and train employees.
- Legal & License Application
- Regulatory Compliance
- Project / Process Planning
- University affiliation
- Setting Budgets
- Irrigation / Water Filtration Systems
- Greenhouse Construction
- Automated Nutrient Control Systems
- Facility Design
- Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)as set by Eudralex
- Engineering
- Access to federal government Grants and loans
- Access to local government officials
- Access to zoned production / cultivation sites
- Understanding of federal government cannabis regulations
- Employee Recruitment
- 30 years of cannabis Executive, production, extraction, regulatory, branding, medical and marketing
- Executive Management
- Site Planning & Development
- Market Analysis
- Website Development
- Genetics
- Public Relations
- Cultivation Expertise
- Extraction Facility Design, Equipment Selection & Operation
- Product development
- Licensing for the activity on INFARMED
- Arrange meetings with government entities
- Present Project for Licensing in accordance with new Legislation in force (Lei 33/2018) and complementary regulations
- Submit Business Plan as it relates to (Lei 33/2018) Complementary regulations to the Cannabis Act
- Production Licensing (including GMP) related to cannabis cultivation
Applying for the following Government Programs and Financial Grants
- PDR 2020 Capital funding – Agriculture Project.
- Estimated Value, 20 Million Euros. Estimated funding, 30%
- Greenhouse
- Cultivation Equipment
- Plantation (15 hectares)
- Energy / Hydro
- Purchase of up to 15 hectares of undeveloped land
- Submission: November 2018
- Approval: April 2019
- Apply for SI (Inovacao do Portugal 2020) Capital funding – Industrial Project
- Estimated value, 5 million Euros. Estimated Funding, 2.25 Million Euros
- Production Facility
- Production equipment for end user products (ie. Extraction equipment)
- Submission: October / November, 2018
- Approval: March 2019
- Application for SI and DT Portugal 2020 Capital funding – Laboratorial Project
- Estimated value, 3 Million Euros. Estimated funding, 1.5 Million Euros
- University contracts and formal relationship
- Wages for Research & Development
- Submission: December 2018
- Approval: June 2019
- Application for Fiscal benefits to the Investment (RFAI & DLRR) in conjunction with the application for SI Portugal 2020
- Application for Fiscal Benefits for R&D (SIFIDE) in conjunction with the application for SI & DT Portugal 2020
Our Services
Our team is dedicated to helping our clients navigate through the complexity of the application process, align with strategic partners and identify possible production locations.
Acquiring a production and processing license requires a broad set of expertise. Our experienced team lives and works in Portugal, advising on everything from genetics sourcing, security requirements, quality assurance personnel, medical / research partnerships, regulatory licensing, business planning and the acquisition of federal government loans & grants.
Our primary objective is to submit and obtain Portugal federal government financing. Second is working with our clients to obtain a cannabis license and third to remain compliant. Our experts will guide you through the rigorous application process and navigate any challenges you may encounter along the way to ensure your success.
The Team
We have the expertise to back up our claims. H&G has worked with federal agencies to provide sponsored funding for commercial, agricultural and marketing initiatives. Margarida Ramos has planned and facilitated the purchase and zoning of cultivation sites; and has developed relationship with federal and local government representatives. Ron Bell has 6 years of executive experience as Canadian Licensed Producer and medical clinic operator.
Our team has all the expertise you need to achieve compliance. Our experts are all full-time professionals with years of experience in the cannabis financing, quality, regulatory, security and extraction sectors.
Production and inventory are worth millions of dollars. Our team will travel to your operation to facility on-site oversight and assist in execution.
Workforce Acquisition
Partnering with local people with the right expertise and credentials to assure success. Whether you are having trouble finding people or looking for people to train we can provide a solution.
EU / GMP Certification
Note that a foreign inspection is always required for proper certification in certain markets (e.g., Germany).
We use our expertise in successful execution of inspections according to federal government and health authorities.
Our services include:
- Site Master File Review, review of SOPs and related documents
- Arrange mock up audits from EU Qualified Person (QP)
- Prepare GMP Inspection
- Writing an inspection closeout summary response
Quality Control Systems
- A complete set of individualized policies and procedures which are customized to our client’s operation, building the foundations of a quality control systems
- Guidance to prepare a facility for operations, including:
- Documentation procedures
- Production-related procedures
- Quality assurance procedures
- Quality control procedures
- Sanitation procedures
- Record-keeping
- Security procedures
- Equipment maintenance-related procedures
- Material handling procedures
- Post-license inspections
- Material / genetic sourcing
Obtaining a federal license starts with an application and applying for federal funding initiatives & programs. The work around becoming operationally ready involves customizing and fine-tuning these to a specific facility that has been fully built out and preparing to operate. Throughout the application stages plans often change, but once their facility is completed and their initial team is hired, a readiness program takes their business from concept to reality.
Identification, Local Regulations & Permitting of Production Sites
Knowledge of zoning and procedures regarding rural and agricultural land use as it pertains to cannabis production. Compliant greenhouse construction including size and type of building materials. Retrofitted greenhouses or purpose built to ensure adequate control technologies are in place for air flow and emission control.
Security Design
A federally approved electronic security system is of paramount importance.
Producing or processing cannabis poses a risk to the company, its employees as well as the surrounding communities. In the design stage, it is crucial to have a partnership with a company that has experience in the design of layered security systems in order to create a seamless transition from conception to implementation. We will support your team through the entire process, helping you understand the complexities set forth in the application process and then once it comes time for the initial pre-license inspection, we will be beside you every step of the way.
Research Into the Production and use of Derivative Products
The diverse range of cannabis-derived products are promising for medical users, and multiple types of end user products will ensure treatment for a variety of aliments. The federal licensing regime will allow companies to extract cannabis oil from plant material and use the extracted oil to create medical cannabis by-products. These licenses can also be utilized to extract and isolate the active compounds of the cannabis and hemp plants including tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, and terpenes.
Extraction Program
- Offers the following service to prospective licenses with extraction-specific goals:
- Floor plan design – we can design a floor plan that meets Good Production
- Practices & Good Manufacturing Practices, and also provide information compliant with Health & Safety, federal fire safety codes in order to ensure compliance with safety guidelines and to ensure profitable and uninterrupted production.
- Production integration: we can integrate an extraction and processing pathway to cultivators. We can also provide production analysis and capacity based on current and prospective material production for small- and large-scale processing licenses.
- Product Development: we can provide consultation on new product development, QC testing and product release.
- Inventory control: Provide consultation on inventory control and tracking to meet the requirements of regulatory bodies.
- Equipment sourcing (production ancillary): we can source equipment tailored to the needs of a client, considering novel extraction and processing methods and technology from bench to industrial scale material processing.
- Cost analysis: Comprehensively assess the projected capital and operating budgets for the implementation of extraction equipment, including consumables, maintenance and labor.
- Personnel qualification / recruitment: our consultants are qualified to train operational personnel to the duties involved in performing the procedures necessary to provide a bulk material for medical and consumer products.
- Auditing: we can recommend associates to provide operational, QA, and inventory auditing processes relevant to maintaining regulatory compliance.
- Optimization practices: our consultants have intimate knowledge in diverse equipment, procedures, and floor plan optimization to create efficiencies.
Research & manufacturing of finished cannabis products: Companies desiring to conduct research with various cannabis derivatives and delivery vehicles will require a Research and Development License authorizing them to experiment with creating unique finished products for research and resale purposes. Cosmetics, natural health products will be a category of finished products alongside pharmaceutical cannabis products such as CBD oil, soft gels, sprays and topicals.