EVIO Announces New Cannabis Testing Lab in California
EVIO has announced that it has expanded its footprint in California by signing a 5-year lease agreement for a 7,370 square foot facility in Palm Desert, Calif.
Centrally located to Desert Hot Springs and Coachella, the new facility is strategically positioned amongst the largest cultivators in Southern California. Due to a previous vote by the Desert Hot Springs City Council, marijuana manufacturing operations are currently not taxed – a move that has already drawn increased interest from operators to set up shop in the area.
"Desert Hot Springs was the first city in Southern California to legalize large-scale medical marijuana cultivation causing the area surrounding our Palm Desert location to be inundated by cannabis growers and developers," said William Waldrop, CEO of EVIO. "With this lease signing, EVIO enters a hotbed of powerful cannabis industry players like the Coachella Valley Cannabis Alliance Network, as well as business leaders that are cognizant of the economic boon offered by cannabis."
The new facility will offer comprehensive compliance testing services in addition to research and development into new cannabis products. Due to California's July 1 testing deadline mandating licensed retailers to sell only lab tested product, the company is expecting a significant uptick in the need for testing services and plans to have the facility operational by Fall 2018 to meet this demand.
New Frontier Data projects the value of the California legal cannabis market forecasts to $4.7 billion by 2025. "We are laser-focused on positioning EVIO to capitalize on this tremendous growth by pursuing aggressive expansion within the state," said Waldrop. "As the industry matures, users want assurance that they are consuming clean products free of any contaminants, pesticides, and residual solvents. Our goal is to increase consumer safety and confidence in the products they are purchasing."
