UK medical cannabis group woos patients to buy into the business

A British medicinal cannabis company based on the Isle of Man is selling up to 25 per cent of its equity to patients in the UK, giving them influence in the production and availability of a drug they struggle to obtain reliably and affordably.

Grow Lab Organics last year became the first company to gain a licence to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, which has its own government but is in a customs union within the UK.

The company is seeking investors among people in the UK who have medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis and find it difficult to legally source high-quality cannabis that can relieve their symptoms.

“Having patients involved in the business means you will make fewer mistakes, produce products they want and have a more dynamic feedback loop,” said Alex Fray, GLO’s chief executive. “It’s potentially very powerful and will allow us to acquire market share rapidly.”

GLO has teamed up with Carly Barton, the first person to gain a medical prescription for cannabis in the UK who has set up a certifying system for users, called Cancard.

Barton says many patients find legal access to the drug prohibitively expensive and the quality of products on offer unreliable. “We are going to bolt in a lot of benefits for people who have invested to dramatically reduce their costs,” she said.

Although there are many companies in the UK with import licences for medicinal cannabis, only a handful are authorised to grow the plant and use either its proscribed psychoactive compound — THC — or legalised compounds known as cannabinoids. Most of these companies are restricted to research and development use.

GLO has overcome obstacles to commercial production by securing a growing and export licence with the Isle of Man. It now hopes that with buy-in from patients, it can shake up the way the UK market works.

Cancard provides an ID card to registered patients consuming cannabis for medical reasons recognised by the police. That enables them to avoid arrest for growing cannabis themselves or buying it from street dealers.

The group’s 75,000 members have been given priority access to shares in GLO ahead of a public fundraising round next week. GLO has already raised £4mn from investors, some of them celebrities and wealthy patients who use cannabis to treat illnesses.

A YouGov survey estimated last October that there were 1.8mn people in the UK obtaining cannabis products illicitly to alleviate chronic physical and mental health conditions. The NHS prescribes the drug only in highly restricted circumstances, so most people gaining access legally do so at private clinics.

Medical use of the drug was legalised in the UK in 2018 for a range of illnesses, including fibromyalgia, and after the parents of children with severe forms of epilepsy promoted its benefits.

Fray says GLO will provide patients, many of whom he hopes will become shareholders, with transparency over the way the plant is grown and which strains are used. They will also have a voice through Barton, who sits on the company’s board and regularly polls Cancard members.

“It is important to patients how the plant is grown,” Fray said.

He did not expect Britain to relax the use of cannabis, as Canada and some US states have done. But he said even in its current restricted form, the market for the drug had yet to have a “breakout moment”.

“The supply chain has been very fragile. But I see the transition accelerating,” he said.