A prominent U.K. cannabis company has become one of only a handful in the country to secure a license to grow hemp with a THC ratio of more than 0.2%.
Somerset-based Sativa Group says the cannabis gleaned from its new facility will be used to support its research efforts with partner institution King’s College London, reports Proactive Investors. The company already has a license to grow low-THC cannabis which was granted 18 months ago.
The Somerset Live website reports that Sativa has an established secure, purpose-built growing facility – which has already been approved by the U.K. Home Office – as part of the application process.
Supporting ‘Critical Research’
It reports that the plants will be grown from the EU-approved seeds and could deliver up to four crops a year. In an interview with the DirectorsTalk website Sativa chief executive Henry Lees-Buckley said the need for further research is vital in the emerging medicinal cannabis industry.
“This is a very important step in facilitating this critical research,” he said.
Its work with King’s College London involves research on the impact of cannabinoids on inflammation and respiratory conditions. He went on to say Sativa’s focus is on delivering high-quality products in its three business streams namely; Medicinal cannabis, its CBD business and its testing operations.
Handful Of U.K. Licenses
The U.K. Home Office is responsible for licensing cannabis cultivation and granted the license to Sativa Group subsidiary Sativa Cultivation and Extraction. As the company highlighted high-THC licenses are very hard to come by in the U.K. and some of the latest figures show that only a handful of these have been granted.
A Freedom Of Information Request published on the Home Office website show there are around five companies with licenses for THC cannabis and around 40 for low-THC cannabis.
Sativa was one of the first U.K. companies to seek a stock market listing and its shares responded positively to the news with the price rising by five per cent on the London NEX Exchange. The company was established in March 2018 with an initial focus on investing in Canadian cannabis companies but has since switched focus to its domestic market.
This will include chain of 100 High Street CBD stores under the brand name Goodbody & Wellness with three of these now operational. Two of its U.K. businesses George Botanicals and PhytoVista Laboratories, are already fully operational, since being established in 2018.
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