The country is fast becoming a European hub for medical cannabis, with its warm temperate subtropical climate – often compared to California’s – making it an ideal place to grow the plant.

“No other country in Europe has better environmental conditions,” Martins told AFP at the plantation, which is surrounded by razor wire and infrared cameras.

Set in hills near Serpa dotted with olive trees and cork oaks, the 5.4-hectare (13.3-acre) farm owned by the Portuguese pharmaceutical company FAI Therapeutic produces around 30 tonnes of cannabis flowers a year. They set up two years ago after a flood of foreign cannabis producers were drawn to Portugal because of its favourable climate and legislation.

More than 60 companies are currently authorised to grow, produce or distribute medical cannabis products there, with 170 more having applied for permission. Portugal exported some 12 tonnes of cannabis-based medical products last year, mainly to Germany – Europe’s largest market – as well as to Poland, Spain and Australia, according to the national drugs agency, Inframed.

The Portuguese boom is fuelled by growing global demand for medical cannabis for chronic pain, the side effects of cancer therapy, some forms of epilepsy and other ailments. Around 50 nations have so far approved the use of cannabis-based medicines, and that number is expected to rise. The global medical cannabis market is expected to grow to over $65 billion by 2030 from $16.6 billion last year, according consulting firm Grand View Research.