In the US, medical cannabis is a multi-billion dollar industry. We go behind the scenes at one of Britain’s top-secret growing facilities and meet the experts who believe it’s high time the drug’s potential was harnessed in the UK, too
  • @li10@lemmy.mlEnglish
    16•9 months ago

    I’m surprised there isn’t more of a general legalization push in the UK, I guess it’s in part because nobody actually cares.

    I smell weed pretty much every time I leave the house. The police don’t seem to give a shit, and I see people smoking it outside all the time.

    • @theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      19•9 months ago

      Whilst this is very true I wish I could easily buy it from a shop with guaranteed quality and some tax money maybe put back into help the farce that is this country right now rather than having to constantly meet up with dodgy cunts with varied quality.

      Not that I really believe the tax money wouldn’t be funneled into some cunts pocket instead but I can dream, right?

    • GreatAlbatrossMEnglish
      9•9 months ago

      The UK is one of the world’s biggest growers of medicinal cannabis. 2017 ICNB report ,page 44

      There seems to be a lot of interest from large companies in not allowing smaller cultivators.
      And the government sacking David Nutt didn’t help either.

      • TWeaKEnglish
        6•9 months ago

        And all of that was by one company. The government wouldn’t grant a license to anyone else. You can see why it hasn’t been legalised, it’s more profitable to them if they have a monopoly.

        They’ve since granted 2 more licenses, one of which is out in Jersey, both are no doubt tied to politicians.

        • @thehatfox@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2•9 months ago

          British Sugar had the only license to grow medicinal cannabis, at their location in Wissington, Norfolk for quite a few years.

          It is of course entirely coincidental that British Sugar’s MD, Paul Kenward, is married to Victoria Atkins, an MP and government minister.

          • TWeaKEnglish
            2•9 months ago

            British Sugar never had a license to grow cannabis, they have a license to produce cannabis products - all the cannabis was grown by GW Pharmaceutical, who were the only license holder for growing until a couple years ago.

            Edit: Source, from 2021: https://www.ft.com/content/e5984c45-34b4-4669-badf-d99b3fbeb4f5

            Northern Leaf, which was founded two years ago and received its permit in December, is the second only company to be granted a UK licence for commercial marijuana cultivation. GW Pharmaceuticals, a US-listed leader in cannabis-based epilepsy medicines that was founded in the UK, was awarded the first permit in 1998.

            The story about Victoria Atkins came from Theresa May’s tenure as PM, which was well before 2021.

            I’m aware there are articles that say British Sugar grew it, but they’re simply wrong. Like I say, I’m pretty sure there’s also been a 3rd license granted to a company in England since this article.

      • @_xDEADBEEF@lemm.eeEnglish
        4•9 months ago

        probably because they know how easy it is to grow and it would undermine their potential profits.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    0•9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    “Before this,” Cowan says, “as an adult, I’d have to sit in a yard waiting for some kid to turn up on a bike, then drive home paranoid that the police would pull me over, just for accessing medication.

    It is limited to people with specific rare and severe forms of epilepsy; adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy, and those with certain multiple sclerosis symptoms.

    It’s all down, science suggests, to the unique interaction of cannabis with our endocannabinoid receptors – a little-understood cornerstone of human anatomy, which regulates and controls many of our brain and body’s most critical functions.

    The first mention of epilepsy while Alfie was at Great Ormond Street Hospital; regular readmissions; countless cycles of seizures only eased by a cocktail of drugs, including morphine and intravenous steroids.

    In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care told the Observer: “Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely funded by the NHS where there is clear evidence of their quality, safety and effectiveness.

    “I qualified in the early 1990s,” says Holden, “and knew nothing about cannabis medicine through most of my years practising.” A specialist in chronic pain and inflammatory arthritis, she was sceptical when first approached by a now Curaleaf colleague.

    The original article contains 2,888 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 93%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!