Member Article

CBD and medical cannabis industry could be worth £2 billion & create 97,000 new jobs, claims new study

The CBD and medical cannabis industry could be worth £2 billion & create 97,000 new jobs, according to a new report written by Maple Tree Consultants and Marckrell.Solicitors and supported by 16 industry bodies.

Despite being one of the largest exporters of medical cannabis in the world, currently, the UK imports 100% of its cannabis medicine and the majority of its CBD products.

According to the new report, the medical cannabis industry could be worth in excess of £2 billion, if even half of the 1.4 million individuals currently sourcing cannabis illegally for medical reasons were to be granted a prescription. According to financial mapping of other regions that have legalised medical cannabis, the industry could generate over £360m per annum in tax revenue.

Professor Mike Barnes, Co-Founder of Maple Tree Consultants said: “Despite the UK having a reputation as a globally dominant medicinal cannabis producer, almost all of the medicinal cannabis products prescribed in the UK have, to date, been imported. The UK is a world leader with a global reputation in pharmaceuticals, so there is a strong argument that if we were able to both develop and export more cannabis-based medicines, we could continue to be a global heavyweight and increase our market share even further. The current situation has resulted in desperate patients, who even after being lucky enough to receive a medicinal cannabis prescription, face high costs and long waiting times. This is in turn leading to frustrated businesses, who are desperate to supply these domestic patients.”

Ricardo Geada, Partner and head of the Cannabis and Regulatory Team at Mackrell.Solicitors said: “The current regulatory landscape for medicinal cannabis is fraught with problems. The market could be worth billions of pounds and has the potential to revolutionise patient care and turbocharge the UK economy post-COVID. We hope the Government takes notice of our report’s findings and opens discussion on the necessary detail that lies behind the Recommendations we have presented.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nathan Stennett .