UK Home Office grants high-THC medical cannabis licence for £300,000 research facility

A UK firm has been granted a Home Office licence to grow high-THC medical cannabis for research purposes. 

Cannabis investment firm Ananda Developments has secured a licence from the UK Home Office to grow cannabis with THC levels of greater than 0.2 percent. 

Its subsidiary, DJT Plants – a grower involved in the development of sustainable cannabis production techniques here in the UK for GW Pharmaceuticals – will grow 65 strains for use in large-scale research, focusing on the conditions for which cannabis products are being prescribed in the UK.

Subject to further Home Office licensing, DJT Plants intends to move to commercial growing, with the aim of supplying high-quality and consistent products to UK patients, as well as exporting to Europe.

Construction on the £300,000 purpose-built facility in Lincolnshire is expected to commence in July.

The site will include a laboratory, indoor breeding spaces and clean and secure areas for handling the harvested flower.

Two greenhouses will also be constructed adjacent to the facilities to accommodate the field trials. The whole research facility will be fenced, secured and monitored. 

Stabilising up to 65 strains

Thirteen strains have been chosen for the trials, with five seeds of each strain to be planted to create a total of 65 potential strains.

The chosen strains exhibit a range of profiles, based on current prescribing and researched information, including: low-THC/high-CBD, high-THC/low-CBD and balanced THC/CBD content.

From the 65 genetically stable strains, a selection will be made to match the best resulting strains with medical conditions.

Ananda Developments is a listed company, with shares traded on London’s AQUIS Stock Exchange.

Ananda Developments CEO, Melissa Sturgess.

Speaking to Cannabis Health, its CEO, Melissa Sturgess said: “All the material that we currently have in the UK is imported, and quality and consistency seems to be variable. 

“I think there’s a huge opportunity to provide a UK source of medicinal cannabis for both UK and international patients.

“Our aim is to have our own unique strains that will be suitable for the indications that are being treated in the UK, and will be plants or chemovars that thrive in UK conditions.

She continued: “Stabilising these 65 strains is about getting the genetics to the point where plant after plant after plant, you’re getting exactly the same cannabinoid profile. 

“We’re also very focused on terpenes which is fairly cutting-edge in terms of where medicinal cannabis is at the moment.

“While the research is thinking about terpenes, there isn’t much focus on the terpenes when it comes to the flower that is being offered.”

Growing sustainably 

DJT Plants will use the UK’s natural growing season, during which the facility will benefit from long hours of light and its greenhouses will create the right temperature to avoid having to rely on artificial light and heat. 

Its material will then be sent to Israel for cannabinoid and terpene analysis. 

“When you grow under artificial conditions of light and heat, the power that is consumed is astronomical, so whilst we talk about this natural product, we’re ignoring the fact that actually it can be really damaging,” said Sturgess.

“Patients and prescribing doctors will know they’re getting a UK product, which hasn’t travelled very far, meaning it’s probably going to be fresher, hasn’t chewed up power or transportation costs coming from the other side of the world and it will be consistent and of a high-quality.”