Red tape shifting medicinal cannabis investment into Europe, entrepreneur warns

Grow has chosen to open its first production site in Spain instead of the UK

A British medicinal cannabis firm has blamed red tape for "incentivising" UK entrepreneurs to shift investment into continental Europe as the company revealed it had chosen to open its first production facility in Spain. 

Grow Group, one of the UK's leading firms in the sector, signed a deal to buy eight hectares of greenhouses and production space near Seville in Spain to grow and process its own cannabis flowers for use in medicines. 

It marks the first time Grow has bought a production facility, having previously partnered with other companies for processing, and means the firm is now able to undertake research and development into medicinal cannabis, produce it and then distribute it. Grow said the move would allow it to make medicines cheaper. 

Ben Langley, chief executive of Grow, said the business was planning to invest more in the UK in the future but current legislation meant it decided to make the investment in Spain first. Companies need permits to export from the UK, but the Home Office does not grant these for most medicinal cannabis products. 

Mr Langley said: "It's a shame. We've got a huge opportunity to shape this industry, we've got fantastic innovative entrepreneurs. We've got first class research infrastructure, the capital markets are incredibly supportive, so there's every reason that this should be an industry that should thrive in Britain.

"When we have this post-Brexit idea of let's be nimble, let's trade, for me this legislation is counter-intuitive and ultimately means that companies are incentivised to set up in continental Europe or elsewhere because they need the ability to export and to move products freely across borders. We've truly made ourselves an island."

Medicinal cannabis was legalised in the UK in November 2018, and is used for pain relief, epilepsy and for combatting some of the negative effects from chemotherapy. 

Grow's cannabis medicines are used by 1,200 people in the UK, although the business is largely selling unfinished medicines to suppliers who then put them in their own products. It accounts for around 20pc of the UK cannabis medicine market.

The company is building out its production capacity as it continues to raise cash via a crowdfunding campaign, which launched earlier this month. The company raised £3.2m within an hour of the crowdfund opening to the public. 

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