Economic contribution of medicinal cannabis

There are no official estimates of the size of the medicinal cannabis industry in the UK, and unofficial estimates of the size of the sector vary widely. However, we do know that the UK is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of legal cannabis for medical and scientific purposes. 

Globally there is a rising trend in the legal production and use of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.

UK companies working on medicinal cannabis products

There are several companies operating in the UK that develop or manufacture medicinal cannabis products. These include:

• Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which has offices in Oxford, Cambridge and London. Jazz produces Epidyolex and Sativex, which are licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA);

• Celadon Pharmaceuticals, which has a manufacturing facility in Birmingham, where it grows cannabis and extracts cannabinoid active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as carrying out research;

• Target Healthcare, which makes certain Bedrocan cannabis oils in the UK;

• GROW Biotech, the R&D arm of the GROW Group, which carries out research on cannabis-based products in Harpenden; and

• Brown and Burk UK Ltd, which supplies Nabilone – this is a licensed medicine that contains synthetic compounds structurally related to naturally occurring cannabinoids.