Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth has started production of cannabis-infused beverages at its facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

The latest move comes after the company received operating and secure storage licence from Health Canada for the 150,000ft2 beverage facility.

Canopy Growth CEO Mark Zekulin said: “This licence represents years of hard work to bring our vision to life. We are deeply proud of the team’s hard work and dedication that has brought us from the tear-down of the original building in early 2019, through to the completion and licensing of our brand-new facility.

“We also appreciate the support of our partner, Constellation Brands, who lent their expertise from building and equipment design to staffing requirements for this world-class facility.

“Cannabis beverages have the potential to introduce a whole different demographic to the cannabis category by presenting them with a familiar product format.”

The facility is expected to complement Canopy Growth’s other cannabis production facilities in the region including a bean-to-bar chocolate factory, regional distribution centre, visitors centre and manufacturing facility.

Initially, the company plans to produce 11 cannabis-infused beverages at its facility using its Distilled Cannabis process. It plans to extend the beverage line at a later stage.

With the licence, the company can now start the shipping of its beverage inventory to the provinces over the next few weeks.

Canopy Growth will also be able to produce cannabis-infused beverages, chocolates and vapes in Canada.

Last November, Constellation Brands completed the C$5bn ($4bn) investment in Canopy Growth.

The deal was approved by Canopy Growth shareholders, which received regulatory approvals from the Canadian government under the Investment Canada Act.