Inside the UK’s first fully licensed facility

The number of prescriptions for medical cannabis has skyrocketed since it was legalized in the UK. With demand showing no signs of slowing down, one company has ambitions to take pharmaceutical production to a new level.

The BBC was granted access to the factory on the condition that its location be kept secret.

To enter, you must identify yourself, pass through two secure gates, and finally through a bulletproof door.

The security team is made up of ex-military personnel.

“We have hundreds of surveillance cameras here, all infrared,” said James Leavesley, one of Dalgety’s founders.

The company says the high-tech facility is the first in the UK where cannabis can be grown, packaged and sold directly to pharmacies in one location.

James first became interested in growing legal cannabis six years ago.

He comes from a farming background but worked in the oil and gas industry for many years.

In 2018, When cannabis was legalized for medical use in the UKan apparent demand for drugs caught his attention.

“There was government research that found 1.8 million people in the UK were sourcing illegal cannabis to relieve medical conditions,” he says.

That same year, he discussed the issue with his father and family friends around the dinner table.

The friend revealed that he too wanted to get into the cannabis field, so they decided to go into business together and founded Dalgety.

But importantly, they needed someone with real-world experience in large-scale cannabis production.

They turned to Canada, where the drug has been legal since 2018.

“We’ve always wanted to go outside the UK to find skilled growers, and Canada has been at the forefront of this for a long time,” says James.

“Growing cannabis is completely different from other crops, so we were looking for someone with experience.”

After extensive research, they decided to headhunt a grower named Brady Green.

Brady previously designed and installed several licensed cannabis facilities in his home country and was well known for his work, James said.

He served as a consultant for the company for three years before being hired as cultivation director.

Brady went on to design the entire setup, including the robust security needed to protect the site.

“There are various access control points and access is restricted [controlling] Which employees and visitors can go to certain areas,” James added.

“With the amount of cannabis we grow on site, it’s really important that we can be reassured that the Home Office takes our safety measures seriously.”

Although James and his business partners invested heavily, there was no guarantee of success in their efforts.

The cultivation and sale of cannabis legally requires a license from the Home Office and the UK Health and Safety Authority (UKHSA).

Cannabis must also be grown to certain standards and sent for testing before it is approved for sale.

But James and his partners were convinced it was worth the risk, given strong and growing markets in countries such as Canada, the United States and Germany.

“We knew there would be demand for this product,” James says.

In January 2023, Dalgetty received a cannabis cultivation license from the Home Office and began cultivation in April of the same year.

Although the crops grown were genetically identical clones, multiple batches nevertheless had to be tested to ensure the product was consistent.

Over 600 samples in total Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The stakes were high, with the company having spent between £8m and £10m to get here.

I expect to enter a cavernous room filled with cannabis plants and an overwhelming smell.

Instead, there is a series of hospital-style hallways, each leading to several small laboratories.

“The lighting is custom made and actually creates an artificial breeze in the room so that no microclimates occur,” says James.

It is very bright, so you will be provided with specially made glasses to protect your eyes.

James explains that it takes about 12 to 14 weeks to create a finished product.

It will spend two weeks in the drying room. When the door slides open, the surroundings noticeably change, becoming darker and cooler.

Once the plants are dry, they must be prepared before being packed.

James took us into a large laboratory. There are six people there, wearing overalls, hairnets and gloves.

They are hand-picked for their agricultural experience or interest in agricultural business.

The flowers will be packaged and delivered to the patient.

In September of this year, James and his team received a second license allowing them to sell cannabis.

James believes the difficulty of obtaining both licenses is why no one else has been able to build an “all-in-one” facility.

“It’s almost two industries combined into one: an agricultural business and a medical and pharmaceutical business.Most people have the ability to specialize in one or the other, but they can specialize in both. “You can’t specialize in it,” he says.

The company aims to bring the product to market in January. By this point, James said they will be able to produce 4,000 prescriptions a month. Additionally, the company is already partnering with prescribers and clinics.

Currently, there are approximately 50,000 medical marijuana users who receive prescriptions from 33 private pharmacies.

but, Very few people on the NHS are given this drug.

This is because not all medical cannabis products are approved for use by the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence (NICE). They only use certain parts of the plant.

NHS specialist doctors can also prescribe unapproved products if they think a patient will benefit, but they must seek payment from NHS England for each individual case and cannot be refused. many.

Private specialists can prescribe non-NHS approved products, but this often comes at a high cost to patients.

Legal medicinal cannabis in flower form costs between £5 and £10 for a gram.

If the average patient takes 0.5ga per day, it can reach up to 150 pounds per month.

The average price of illegal cannabis is widely reported to be around £10 per gram.

However, legal clinics also require patients to attend regular examinations, which can cost at least £180 a year.

To qualify for a prescription through a legal clinic, a patient must first have tried other drugs that have not worked.

The Department of Health and Social Care said more research was needed into the effects of medicinal cannabis before making any changes to how it is prescribed in the NHS.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS already offers a number of licensed cannabis-based treatments with proven clinical efficacy, approved by the medicines regulator and recommended by NICE.” Ta.

“It is understandable that many doctors and professional bodies remain concerned about unlicensed products, and that manufacturers can engage with the UK medicines regulatory process to obtain a license and give doctors confidence to use their products. It is necessary to do so.”

Laura, a teacher from Nottinghamshire, has previously purchased cannabis on the black market to treat various medical conditions.

“It’s primarily musculoskeletal damage, but there’s widespread neurological damage,” she says. “There’s a lot going on and I’m in pain every day and it’s difficult to move.”

Laura is not her real name. He chose to remain anonymous because of the stigma associated with drug use.

Her symptoms were so painful that she was prescribed the most powerful drugs, including ketamine.

She was referred to a specialist doctor who suggested she consider using cannabis.

“I had to decide whether I was going to do something that would jeopardize my career or something that would make me feel better,” she says.

She began using marijuana illegally, but was concerned not only about its legality but also about its safety.

“We’re talking about drugs you buy on the street, and you don’t know the type or the strength of the drug,” she says.

When legal marijuana dispensaries appeared, Laura applied for a prescription.

After trying several different companies, she now uses a UK-based pharmacy that operates online.

She said that while legal cannabis is grown in a clean environment, black market products can contain contaminants, such as the thought disorders and memory problems that can be associated with the drug. He said he was not worried about the side effects.

And because the drug is prescribed and monitored by a doctor, its use is well-controlled, she says.

But she feels the benefits will be overshadowed if it turns out there are long-term downsides.

“I hate being without it because it hurts so much,” she says. “If you wake up late and haven’t eaten anything, you may start to feel the pain creeping in.”

Even though cannabis is giving her solace, Laura is unable to tell anyone other than her closest family and friends.

“I still find it a little funny to do it in public,” she says. “The next thing you know, you’re hiding out with a portable vaporizer to put drugs in or open containers. The problem is that a lot of people think that everyone who smokes marijuana is a stoner.”