How Aurora Cannabis plans to enter the US market

This is part of a regular series of MJBizDaily interviews with major THC industry players. To be considered for an interview, contact editorial@mjbizdaily.com.

Though Aurora Cannabis is based in Canada, CEO Miguel Martin is keeping a close eye on the U.S. marijuana rescheduling process.

That’s because Martin sees a potential path for Aurora to enter the U.S. market – the world’s largest – without owning a single plant-touching U.S. asset, he told MJBizDaily.

What is Aurora Cannabis up to?

The company, listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ACB, runs medical cannabis operations in 12 countries and has built its business around good manufacturing practices (GMP) and regulatory compliance.

Aurora’s international medical cannabis revenue was $48.8 million during the three months ended March 31, according to the company’s fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter filing.

For the year ended March 31, international medical cannabis revenue increased by $39.5 million.

The company attributed the increase to higher sales in European markets, primarily in Germany, according to the filing.

Earlier this year, the company said it would become “solely” a medical marijuana company. According to the filing, it is winding down its adult-use business but still produces, distributes and sells them on a “very limited basis.”

“We’ve always been predominantly medical,” Martin told MJBizDaily.

“We’ve always kept a toe in recreational in Canada, but the vast majority has been medical. What we’ve learned is that there’s a lot of interplay between the two.”

Why does Aurora focus on medical marijuana?

Martin said the medical lane suits Aurora for three reasons:

• It plays to the company’s strengths in good manufacturing practices (GMP).
• It grows faster than recreational cannabis.
• It returns the most profit.

Martin is tracking the Drug Enforcement Administration’s hearing to move adult-use cannabis to Schedule 3, and he believes the shift could create room for a company like Aurora to take part in the U.S. industry.

According to Martin, the Schedule 3 designation could let a Nasdaq-listed Canadian entity participate in the U.S. medical market through a partnership rather than full ownership.

“Whether you partner but not consolidate it … is the big question,” Martin said. “There would be a lot of opportunity if regulations allowed.”

What about the US cannabis market appeals to Aurora?

Much of the rescheduling conversation in the U.S. has centered on Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, the tax code provision that blocks plant-touching operators from deducting standard business expenses.

Martin is less focused on that piece.

The real prize, he said, is access to the U.S. medical market, not the tax benefit that’s so important to American operators.

“280E is less interesting to us,” he said.

Martin is particularly interested in which federal agency will take the lead.

“What role will the FDA have in the registration, monitoring and promulgation of the regulations?” he asked. “Who’s assigned to it? FDA, DEA, ATF? What are the mechanics going to be?”

He pointed to tobacco as a guide for how rescheduling could unfold, referencing the regulatory framework built around products like cigarettes.

Once adult-use cannabis lands at Schedule 3, the industry will need to weigh in as the rules take shape, Martin said.

“It’s legal, but we need industry to weigh in on what’s going on here,” he said. “That’s how they’ve handled tobacco.”

How important is GMP?

Full rescheduling would allow American companies to compete with Canadian licensed producers in international cannabis exports. But the cross-border movement of plant material would not be a dealbreaker for Aurora.

The company operates a GMP production facility in Germany, giving it flexibility many competitors lack.

It also could serve as a workaround if Canada-to-U.S. shipments aren’t permitted.

“If the U.S. exports to Germany, Germany could export to the U.S.,” Martin said.

Aurora also operates the largest genetics facility in Canada, and Martin credits a more scientific approach to “phenotype hunting” for real gains.

“Cannabis has been more of an art than a science,” he said. “It’s made a huge difference. Yield, potency, resistance to mold and mildew make a big difference.”

The company recently acquired Safari Flower, an Ontario-based cultivator and processor of pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis flower

“What Aurora is really good at is the genetic work, production, and cultivation and the ability to leverage that internationally in some of the toughest regulatory markets in the world,” Martin said.

Martin points to one deal as evidence that cannabinoids can clear a proper federal approval process: the roughly $7.2 billion acquisition of GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, built on the Epidiolex franchise.

That precedent shapes how Aurora reads the U.S. opportunity. If the FDA takes a central role, a company with deep GMP experience has an advantage.

“That proved there are cannabinoids that can go through a proper FDA registration process,” Martin said. “That’s an indication of where this all goes and that this is medicine.”

Can Aurora succeed in the US medical marijuana industry?

Martin favors the European prescription model, where patients receive cannabis through a pharmacy after a physician’s order.

“I like the European one because it treats cannabis like any other medication,” he said.

He also praised Canada’s veteran program, while noting that European systems prescribe a specific item rather than a blanket allowance.

Both models keep a physician involved in dosage and format decisions, he said.

Aurora’s international footprint gives Martin a reference point for what strict regulation looks like – and what a fully realized and legal national medical cannabis market might look like in the U.S. Germany and Poland, two of the company’s key markets, apply rigorous testing, registration and GMP audit standards through pharmaceutical regulators.

He does not expect the U.S. to go further.

“I can’t imagine it will be any stricter than Germany or Poland,” he said.

Margaret Jackson can be reached at margaret.jackson@mjbizdaily.com.