SMITHS FALLS, Ont. -- Canopy Growth Corp. says it has been granted a licence by New York State to process and produce hemp, a member of the cannabis plant family.

The Ontario-based company is one of Canada's biggest producers of legal cannabis products for medicinal and recreational use.

Canopy says it plans to invest between US$100 million and US$150 million in its New York operations, although the exact location hasn't been decided.

The U.S. federal government designated hemp as an agricultural product late last year, making it a potential source of legal cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive compound also found in marijuana.

Canopy says it will source hemp exclusively from U.S. farmers for its U.S. operations once up and running.

Canopy Growth says it's in the process of evaluating a number of sites that will become one of its first extraction and processing facilities outside Canada and it plans to announce the specific location within 100 days.