British based medical cannabis company, Grow Lab Organics (GLO), is offering up to 25% of its equity to UK patients suffering from medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, who struggle to legally obtain high-quality cannabis. Last year, GLO was the first company to receive a license to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, part of a customs union in the UK. Patients who invest in GLO will have a greater say in the production and availability of cannabis products. Carly Barton, CEO of Cancard, a certification scheme for medical cannabis users, has partnered with GLO, providing identity cards to registered patients who consume cannabis for medical reasons and are recognized by the police to avoid arrest for growing cannabis themselves or buying it from street vendors. Despite many UK companies having import licenses for medical cannabis, only a select few are licensed to grow the plant and use its banned psychoactive compound – THC – or legalized compounds called cannabinoids, most of which are limited to R&D use. A YouGov survey estimated that 1.8 million people in the UK obtain cannabis products illegally to alleviate chronic physical and mental health conditions.
Title: Medical Cannabis Company Offering UK Patients Equity in Quest for Greater Access
Sub-headers:
– Background: GLO’s License to Grow and Export Cannabis from the Isle of Man
– Existing Challenges for UK Medical Cannabis Patients
– Patient Engagement: Helping GLO to Capture Market Share
– Cancard Partnership Prioritizes Patient Safety and Legal Identity
– Transparency and Patient Authority in Cannabis Production
– Slow Legalization and Challenges in the UK Cannabis Market
GLO’s Quest for Greater Access to Medical Cannabis for UK Patients
Medical cannabis company, Grow Lab Organics (GLO), has become the first UK cannabis business to offer equity to UK patients with a medical condition that could be treated through access to cannabis products. While medical cannabis was legalized for use in the UK in 2018, it remains difficult to obtain legally. GLO hopes to make its products more widely and affordably available by giving patients a greater say in the production and availability of cannabis products.
Background: GLO’s License to Grow and Export Cannabis from the Isle of Man
GLO’s license to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, a customs union in the UK, has allowed the company to overcome commercial production hurdles, securing a unique position in the market. Most companies in the UK that have a license to grow cannabis are restricted to research and development use and cannot use the banned psychoactive compound – THC – or cannabinoids in their syntheses.
Existing Challenges for UK Medical Cannabis Patients
Despite medical cannabis being legal in the UK, it remains out of reach for many patients suffering from chronic physical and mental health conditions. Patients cite high costs and unreliable quality of products as major challenges. Most people gain access to medical cannabis through private clinics, as the NHS only prescribes the drug in very limited circumstances.
Patient Engagement: Helping GLO to Capture Market Share
Patients who invest in GLO will have a greater say in the production and availability of cannabis products. According to Alex Fray, GLO’s CEO, “having patients engaged with the company means they make fewer mistakes, produce the products they want, and have a more dynamic feedback loop.” This engagement will enable GLO to capture a significant market share quickly.
Cancard Partnership Prioritizes Patient Safety and Legal Identity
GLO has partnered with Cancard, a certification scheme for medical cannabis users, to provide an identity card to registered patients who consume cannabis for medical reasons. The card is recognized by the police, and it allows patients to avoid arrest for growing cannabis themselves or buying it from street vendors. Prioritizing patients’ safety and legal identity is a crucial aspect of GLO’s quest for greater access to medical cannabis in the UK.
Transparency and Patient Authority in Cannabis Production
One of the key advantages for patients investing in GLO is transparency around how the plant is grown and what strains are used. Patients will also have a voice through Barton, who sits on the company’s board and regularly polls Cancard members. GLO hopes to provide more dynamic feedback from patients, enabling the company to produce the products that patients want.
Slow Legalization and Challenges in the UK Cannabis Market
While some countries, such as Canada, have eased the use of cannabis, Alex Fray does not believe that the UK will follow a similar path. However, he believes that even in its restricted form cannabis has not yet had a “breakthrough moment.” Fray sees the transition accelerating, and more patients engaging with the company will help GLO to capture a greater market share.
Summary:
British medical cannabis company, Grow Lab Organics (GLO) is seeking to raise funding by selling up to 25% of its equity to UK patients who find it difficult to legally source high-quality cannabis to relieve chronic physical and mental health conditions. Patients who invest in GLO will have a greater say in the production and availability of cannabis products. GLO has secured a unique license to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, overcoming commercial production hurdles faced by most UK cannabis companies. The CEO of Cancard, Carly Barton, sits on the company’s board, and the two organizations have partnered to provide legal identity cards to registered patients who consume cannabis for medical reasons. GLO hopes to provide transparency around cannabis production and involve patients in decision-making that will shape the company’s products.
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A British medical cannabis company based in the Isle of Man is selling up to 25% of its equity to patients in the UK, giving them influence in the production and availability of a drug they struggle to get it reliably and affordably.
Grow Lab Organics last year became the first company to obtain a license to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, which has its own government but is part of a customs union in the UK.
The firm is looking for investors among people in the UK who have medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis and are finding it difficult to legally source high-quality cannabis that can relieve their symptoms.
“Having patients engaged with the company means they make fewer mistakes, produce the products they want, and have a more dynamic feedback loop,” said Alex Fray, GLO’s chief executive officer. “It’s potentially very powerful and will allow us to quickly capture market share.”
GLO has partnered with Carly Barton, the first person to obtain a prescription for cannabis in the UK who has set up a certification scheme for users, called Cancard.
Barton says many patients find legal access to the drug prohibitively expensive and the quality of the products offered unreliable. “We’re going to introduce a lot of benefits for people who have invested to dramatically reduce their costs,” she said.
Although there are many companies in the UK with import licenses for medical cannabis, only a handful are licensed to grow the plant and use its banned psychoactive compound – THC – or legalized compounds known as cannabinoids. Most of these companies are limited to R&D use.
GLO overcame commercial production hurdles by securing a grow and export license with the Isle of Man. Now it hopes that with patient acceptance it can shake up the way the UK market works.
Cancard provides an identity card to registered patients who consume cannabis for medical reasons recognized by the police. This allows them to avoid arrest for growing cannabis themselves or buying it from street vendors.
The group’s 75,000 members were given priority access to GLO stock ahead of a public fundraiser next week. GLO has already raised £4m from investors, some of them celebrities and wealthy patients who use cannabis to treat disease.
A YouGov survey estimated last October that there were 1.8 million people in the UK obtaining cannabis products illicitly to alleviate chronic physical and mental health conditions. The NHS only prescribes the drug in very limited circumstances, so most people who gain access legally do so at private clinics.
The drug was legalized for medical use in the UK in 2018 for a number of conditions, including fibromyalgia, after parents of children with severe epilepsy touted its benefits.
Fray says GLO will provide patients, many of whom he hopes will become shareholders, with transparency about how the plant is grown and what strains are used. They will also have a voice through Barton, who sits on the company’s board and regularly polls Cancard members.
“It’s important to patients how the plant is grown,” Fray said.
He didn’t expect Britain to ease the use of cannabis, as Canada and some US states have done. But he said that even in its current restricted form, the drug market still hasn’t had a “breakthrough moment.”
“The supply chain has been very fragile. But I see the transition accelerating,” she said.
https://www.ft.com/content/61c20d65-7c18-47c1-a027-1f64ffe6fd4a
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