Scotland: Green light for first medical cannabis plantation

The United Kingdom, which has legalized medical cannabis in late 2018, still struggles to provide them. Due to a lack of domestic production, patients are forced to import their medications from abroad. Since the high cost of these treatments is covered only minimally—if at all—by health insurance, many patients still turn to the black market to get their supplies.

Farmers in southern Scotland are nevertheless set to open the country’s first medical cannabis farm. William and Neil Ewart have just received a building permit to open a greenhouse covering just over 1 hectare in Langholm. The cannabis grown there will be destined for the British market and processed into oil.

In 2019, several cannabis production facilities opened in Great Britain, for example in a secret spot in Wiltshire or in the Somerset. GW Pharmaceuticals has also been growing cannabis in Kent for several years to source cannabinoids for its Sativex and Epidiolex products.

For the Ewarts, however, this first step is part of a long and complicated process. «It’s a great step in the right direction, but there are so many more steps to take,» said explained Ewart. The farm must now ask the UK Home Office its license to produce medical cannabis.

In order to receive this license, the company must «demonstrate that Langholm is a suitable place to do this kind of thing,» Ewart explained. «I don’t want to sound too optimistic or make too much of a fuss because things could go wrong, but this is a very exciting project for Langholm.»

The new facility hopes to hire at least 50 employees, including scientists, IT specialists, horticulturists, and security guards. Plans for the farm include a commercial greenhouse, water storage tanks, and an on-site generator that will recover heat from the grow rooms to generate electricity. Once fully operational, the farm expects to produce 200 liters of cannabis oil per year.