TORONTO, Jan. 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- WeedMD Inc., a federally licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, has announces it is kicking off 2021 with the development of new extract products featuring live resin and solventless hash, and rosin concentrates. The company’s newest Cannabis 2.0 extract products are expected to debut during the second quarter of 2021, under WeedMD’s Color Cannabis and Saturday Cannabis adult-use brands.

RELATED: WeedMD's Bold Pivot in Canada's Evolving Market

“WeedMD’s genetic library boasts unique strains, with flavour and aroma profiles widely recognized throughout the industry and we are thrilled to announce we are now expanding into high-value, terpene-rich hash, live resin and rosin products,” said George Scorsis, executive chairman and interim CEO of WeedMD. “We are listening to our consumers and retail partners in developing these products and extending our portfolio. Our cultivation, commercial and product teams are now capturing these profiles in a variety of formats including solventless concentrates and extracts to deliver premium products under our Color and Saturday Cannabis brands. This expanded portfolio is tailor-made for consumers looking for richer cannabis concentrates and alternative cannabis consumption methods.”

Product development for both solventless cannabis concentrates (including bubble hash and rosin) and hydrocarbon (live resin) extract products is currently underway alongside WeedMD and its highly skilled third-party processors. This includes trialing processes to produce extracts which best capture and preserve the company’s most robust, trichome-coated flowers, including award-winning strains such as Pedro’s Sweet Sativa and Mango Haze.

The company has further developed a unique, in-house sub-critical CO2 extract post-processing methodology, which preserves the flower’s terpene profile and results in a malleable, semi-solid high-potency cannabis extract product. Trials to confirm scalability and product integrity are currently underway at the company’s Aylmer, Ontario processing and extraction hub.

Extract products will be produced using WeedMD’s own biomass, grown on site at the company’s state-of-the-art greenhouse and outdoor field in Strathroy, Ontario. Initial new extract products are anticipated for market release in Q2 2021.

According to Statistics Canada, 527,987 units of adult-use extract products were purchased by Canadians in January 2020. Within 10 months, this single month purchase volume rose significantly by over 150%, to 1,328,769 units in October 2020. Data from the period shows extracts made up 14% of the Canadian cannabis market.  Recent third-party* data suggest Canada’s extracts market is forecasted to grow to 37% by 2025, split mostly with 46% dried flower product, and the cannabis market is estimated to grow to $11-billion in that time.