HORTICORPORATE VENTURES: The legal cannabis industry of the UK

#This article was first published in High Wife issue 5

By Tom Tripp

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It’s not very commonly known, but cannabis has been available on the NHS in the UK since 2018. Shockingly however, less than twelve thousand prescriptions have been filled (source Cannabishealthnews.com). This has left a stunning gap in the market, where it is estimated that currently remains 1.4 million untreated patients find themselves hunting through the illegal market and other illicit means. This not only puts a stigma on the user themselves, but all cannabis users and the industry as a whole. The department of health also estimates that around 8 million people in the UK currently suffer from varying forms of chronic pain, and up to 3 million could be eligible for cannabinoid treatments where other treatments may have failed.

According to a UN report in 2018 the UK is the largest producer of legal cannabis, and it is estimated to generate approximately £354 million in 2023 alone. Even more shockingly, our very own British government also has a hand in this field. Former Prime Minister, Teresa May has marital ties to the cannabis industry through long time husband, Philip. Victoria Atkins, our drugs minister is bound to the cannabis industry too through her husband’s licence to grow 45 acres of cannabis (We will cover this later!).

However, disparaging the tory government (despite how tantalising and easy that would be) is not my focus here. Instead, rather, the aim of this article is to inform you of the companies that are outside our front doors. Despite cannabis still being very heavily regulated, there are a few pioneers out there making headlines in the British cannabis industry.

There are a few important things to note before we deep dive:

The term API refers to ‘active pharmaceutical ingredient.’ This refers to cannabinoids in this context.
There are 3 types of cannabis available on the NHS, and the following descriptions come from the NHS website: –

1.Epidyolex – for adults and children with epilepsy. Highly purified liquid CBD form. Contains no THC (psychoactive ingredient). Prescribed for patients suffering from Lennox-Gastraut or Dravet syndrome.

2.Nabilone – For chemotherapy patients struggling with sickness or nausea. Taken as a capsule; Nabilone is known as the ‘man made cannabis’ and has been developed to work in a similar way to THC.

3.Nabiximol (Sativex) – Cannabis based mouth spray-for adults in the UK suffering with MS for stiffness and spasms.

*These will not be available through your local doctor, and instead need to be prescribed by a specialist hospital doctor. For more information on this, please refer to the NHS website.*

COMPANY 1- CELADON

Celadon’s main HQ is in our fine capital, but their labs are based in the Midlands. Although unusual for this country, labs can eradicate some of the variables that our weather can bring. This also means a higher yield per square metre and at an increased frequency (9 weeks harvest time on average, according to the guardian website!), albeit at an increased cost. Spanning a massive 5 rooms, at full capacity can produce 10-15 tonnes of cannabis a year. This could result in supply to up to 50,000 patients and generate up to £90 million in revenue. However, unlike most other cannabis based companies in the UK, Celadon is one of the only ones out there to be granted a licence to grow THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) medicinal cannabis. The reason for this being their extensive research and development department breaking waves into the chronic pain and neurological disorder market.

Not only is Celadon a growing operation, but they are highly invested in the whole process, from seed to medicine. This is evident when looking at their research and development team. Having this department will have played a major factor in their home office licence to grow THC based cannabis where others have been denied. By having a research and development department, it means that not only are they hands on with the product on site, but they can also hire outside sources to come in and monitor patients, keep face to face interaction available, and also constantly tweak and alter the medication to really boost it to its full potential. This can only be of benefit to the end user.

Celadon also owns a majority investment in the private London pain clinic called ‘LVL health’. This secondary link also means information can be freely shared between medical practitioners and the medicine house themselves, taking away middlemen and people to interfere. Currently, LVL are testing approximately 100 patients in their chronic pain study, with another potential 5000 spaces in the trial. This is believed to be the only UK trial for THC based cannabis with regulatory approval. The flower is administered in an automatic inhaler, that can dose control for the patient. Other trials financed by Celadon, but not related to LVL health that include looking at diabetes and autism.

COMPANY 2- JAZZ PHARMA

Jazz Pharma is a medical company that was founded in 2003 in Ireland, who’s primary focus was ‘developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases-with often limited or no options-so they can live their lives more fully’(direct quote). Never was this truer than when they purchased GW PHARMA in 2021 in a deal that was estimated to be valued at £7.2 Billion. However, one of their previous products, Xyren, has come under fire in previous years due to its ability to be abused, and cause abuse. Xyren is a medication for narcolepsy and could cause a user to fall into a deep sleep within minutes. Jazz is one company that is regularly recommended on the stock exchange in the conversation of top 10 companies growing rapidly within the British cannabis industry. Surprisingly, there’s a massive amount of British cannabis companies on the stock exchange. Go and take a look, you’ll be shocked.

COMPANY 3-GW PHARMA

GW Pharma are the star doggs (in name, not in reputation) in this industry. The only other top exposure company after Celadon to be granted a THC API licence from the home office (despite being a CBD heavy strain) they own the largest plot of grow houses in the UK. All located in the sunny Norfolk. The greenhouses (not that they would want you calling them that) stand on a site at a whopping 45 acres, or the equivalent to 34 football pitches. I should mention that some of these grow houses used to contain tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, and other British delights under the watchful eye of British Sugar. Now British Sugar is growing UK OG and the overall game under the watchful eye of GW pharma. Who are under the watchful eye of Jazz Pharma. Wow. And I thought my pyramid scheme was excessive.

Encased in this stack of corporate ownership is our politicians we mentioned previously. You may remember Theresa from her brief stint as prime minister, or as dancing female Peter Crouch. You may remember Victoria Atkins from…. well, being in parliament or being outspoken about cannabis alongside Mrs May. She was our crime secretary for a brief time, as well as a few other posts in parliament. These women have been fighting valiantly to keep cannabis off of our streets, out of our hospitals and medicines and certainly out of reach to be any kind of benefit to anyone while their husbands have been working within the legalised cannabis sector.

Philip May owns 22% of GW Pharma resulting in his company receiving 22% of the profit and dividends. It is not known if he is a vocal or silent shareholder, but just imagine being sat at a dinner table conversation between the two of them and how the balance of this topic goes between them.

Paul Kennard is husband to Victoria Atkins. He is the man responsible for the licence to grow on the open 45 acre plot for GW Pharma as well as being the boss for British Sugar, who began their cannabis career in 2016. They are also the sole producer of sugar from sugar beet in the UK. While these two men openly grow cannabis legally for sale in the UK and overseas (we are the worlds largest distributor of legalised cannabis globally), their wives and political party have fought tooth and nail to keep cannabis away from the everyman, despite the evidence supporting health benefits, and how the economy would actively flourish under legalisation.

Earlier we mentioned the three varieties of cannabis being Epidyolex, Nabilone and Sativex. GW Pharma is responsible for the creation, release, and distribution of both Sativex and Epidyolex.

Sativex isn’t for everyone though, with the MS Society stating ‘ Sativex doesn’t work for lots of people. But for those it does work for, their spasticity symptoms get significantly better. When people use Sativex around 7 in 10 of them see their spasticity reduce by at least 20%. And spasticity is reduced even more for some people – by 30% or more for around 4 in every 10 people.’ It can be costly too, with the mouth spray medicine costing around £2,000 a year, and availability being radically limited across the country. Epidyolex is a CBD based medicine for primary use in extreme epilepsy cases and has around the same effectivity results as Sativex.

COMPANY 4-HILLTOP LEAF

This ones a bit different. Founded by Hamish Clegg and father/son Duo Will and Neil Ewart in 2019, Hilltop Leaf is Scotlands first greenhouse; and they have high ambition. Last week they managed to secure £2 million in private investment to scale its operations, become one of the largest producers of cannabis in the UK and have already built their 11,000sq m production facility in Dumfries and Galloway. When fully operational it will have the potential to supply around 10% of the British cannabis market. Hamish Clegg has said the following in a recent press confrence- ‘We are building a business around 3 key pillars of health innovation, environmental sustainability and community impact’. ‘We plan to rival other countries such as Canada, Germany and Israel with our own reliable supply from the hills of scotland’. One way they’ve certainly managed to get the ball rolling in the right direction is by partnering with Nottingham Trent University research team which will specialise in clinical trials and testing. These guys seem to be the underdog, but I will enjoy watching them grow and expand. They currently have no Philip May involvement.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The legal cannabis market is booming and ready to go. The supply is there, as is the demand. However, for the most part it seems absolutely unobtainable to most people, even the ones that would truly benefit from a quality of life improvement. Which begs the question-why? The fact we’ve got legal cannabis as an industry is fantastic for our country. The revenue generated through import and export is phenomonal. But access is so rarely given to those in need, and that needs to change. Professor Nutt has recently said in a BBC interview he believes it will be legal within the next 10 years. I’m not so optimistic. With all the facts considered, it truly can be a double edged blade, as both the pros and cons to the current state of the British cannabis industry, and that murkey grey inbetween what can be considered either good or bad. Granted, smaller companies cropping up like hilltop leaf who are securing privatised funding but being granted licences is a major step in the right direction but still a far cry from what we could have. How does your Utopia look?

Got a question or feedback? Please let me know at tom@hazeydays.co.uk

Written and edited by Tom Tripp

All facts checked and referenced with various sources. For more information please visit the NHS website and the websites of the companies listed in this article.

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