API Labs Inc. is a Canadian-owned company looking to create a vertically integrated poppy industry in Canada. The first step has been to establish a world-class research facility for the development of poppies that meet the needs of the commercial market. The second step will be the sale of seeds and pressed oil to the culinary market. Eventually we look to capture an alkaloid industry for Canada, developing a wholly domestic production line for the relevant lines of pharmaceuticals.
API Labs has been working towards its goal of introducing commercial poppy cultivation and processing to Western Canada since 2007. This has included conducting lab and field-based research and lobbying the federal government to amend the necessary regulations to permit commercial growth.
API Labs has developed and patented around the world a thebaine poppy that produces no morphine but is essential for the production of life-saving medicines including naloxone, suboxone, and buprenorphine, which are used for overdose protection and addiction recovery programs.