Cannabis News
Inside UK’s First Medical Cannabis Lab
An insightful look into the first medical cannabis lab in the UK, this week, reported by Julia Kollewe of the Guardian.
Celadon Pharmaceuticals PLC are a uniquely positioned new player on the field of medical cannabis in the UK. They are able to grow in a highly specialist laboratory, rather than using greenhouses like any other current UK-based medical cannabis lab. As a result, this ensures a higher yield of much higher quality product per harvest.
James Short, CEO and Founder of Celadon, spoke to the Guardian. “In early 2018, my son approached me and asked me did I want to invest in the medical cannabis sector? I said it’s not for me,” he says. “When the government legalised it, he came back to me and I said: ‘Let’s look at it.’ I spoke to many patients who have used medicinal cannabis, especially for chronic pain. It was those patients that persuaded me that it wasn’t snake oil. It really worked and had changed their lives.”
Medical Cannabis Lab - First THC Licence
The company is one of the first in the UK to receive this particular licence from the home office. As a result, they are able to grow medical cannabis containing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and not just CBD. They are also working with partner clinics to help fund research into other treatments, such as for autism and diabetes.
Celadon is working very closely with the private clinic LVL Health, who are currently running one of the only approved trials for medical cannabis prescription. Patients will receive an inhaler that is linked to an app. It can administer a safe and regulated amount of full-flower cannabis daily.
It is estimated that around 1 in 8 people in the UK are suffering from some form of chronic pain. Despite this, there is a long and difficult road ahead for companies like Celadon who want to see sensible legislation allow medical cannabis to be prescribed on the NHS. Trials like these will go a long way to help ease current restrictions.
