"All eyes are focused on the U.K. right now to see this program move forward,”
With the UK legalizing medical cannabis on the 1st November 2018, adoption of the use has been slow.
Canopy Growth Corp along with other investors is investing 7.4 million pounds into testing medical cannabis for the treatment of pain and opioid dependence. The tests will be run by Beckley Canopy Therapeutics Ltd, a UK firm part owned by Canopy.
Mark Ware, Canopy’s chief medical officer said that they are in the process of obtaining permits to import the drug and that doctors need to learn about when to prescribe it and government guidelines limit the potential for widespread applications. Clinical research will hopefully allow wider acceptance of cannabis by the medical community.
“All eyes are focused on the U.K. right now to see this program move forward,” he said in a phone interview. “The discussion has gone from zero to 100 in the space of a few months.”
The project is expected to take off early 2019, and Canopy’s co-investors include Manx Financial Group Plc, Richard Reed (Innocent Drinks) and biotech entrepreneur Annalisa Jenkins.
Will this investment give the UK’s medical cannabis the jump start it needs?
Source Bloomberg
Image – Rexmedlen (p)
