Inside the 'secret' £10m medicinal cannabis factory

Since it was legalised successful the UK, the fig of medicinal cannabis prescriptions has surged. With request showing nary signs of slowing, 1 institution has ambitions to instrumentality accumulation of the cause to a caller level.

The BBC has been fixed entree to the mill connected the information the determination remains secret.

To enter, we request to beryllium our identities, spell done 2 unafraid gates, and finally, walk done a bulletproof door.

The information squad is ex-military.

"We person hundreds of CCTV cameras astir the spot - each infrared," says James Leavesley, 1 of the founders of Dalgety.

According to the company, this hi-tech installation is the archetypal successful the UK wherever cannabis tin beryllium grown, packaged and sold straight to pharmacies from a azygous location.

James archetypal became funny successful increasing ineligible cannabis six years ago.

Although helium comes from an cultivation background, for galore years helium worked successful the lipid and state industry.

In 2018, when cannabis was legalised for medicinal usage successful the UK, the evident request for the cause caught his attention.

"There was a authorities survey showing determination are 1.8 cardinal radical successful the UK sourcing illicit cannabis to assistance alleviate their aesculapian conditions," helium says.

That aforesaid year, helium discussed the contented portion sitting astir the meal array with his begetter and a household friend.

The person revealed helium was besides keen to get into the cannabis assemblage - truthful they decided to spell into concern together, and formed Dalgety.

Crucially however, they needed idiosyncratic who had real-world acquisition of producing cannabis connected a ample scale.

They looked to Canada, wherever the cause has been ineligible since 2018.

"We knew we wanted to spell and look extracurricular the UK for a skilled grower and Canada has been astatine the forefront of this for truthful long," says James.

"Growing cannabis is wholly antithetic to immoderate different harvest truly and we wanted idiosyncratic who had experience."

After extended research, they decided to headhunt a grower called Brady Green.

Brady had antecedently designed and acceptable up respective licensed cannabis facilities successful his autochthonal country, and was renowned for his work, says James.

He acted arsenic a advisor for the institution for 3 years, earlier being recruited arsenic their caput grower.

Brady went connected to plan the full set-up, including the robust information needed to support the site.

"We person assorted entree power points, restricted entree [controlling] which employees and visitors tin spell to definite areas," adds James.

"It's truly important for the magnitude of cannabis that we're increasing connected tract that the UK Home Office person comfortableness that we instrumentality our information measures seriously."

Despite the immense concern for James and his concern partners, their efforts came with nary warrant of success.

Growing and selling cannabis legally requires licences from the Home Office and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Cannabis besides needs to beryllium grown to a definite standard, and sent distant for investigating earlier it tin beryllium approved for sale.

But James and his partners were convinced it was worthy the risk, fixed the beardown maturation of markets successful countries similar Canada, the US and Germany.

"We knew that the request for the merchandise was going to beryllium there," says James.

In January 2023, Dalgety secured a Home Office licence to turn cannabis, and successful April that twelvemonth they began cultivating.

The crops grown were clones - genetically identical - but contempt this, aggregate batches inactive had to beryllium tested to guarantee the merchandise was consistent.

In total, much than 600 samples were sent to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The concern had spent £8m to £10m to scope this point, truthful the stakes were high.

I'm expecting to locomotion into a cavernous country filled with cannabis plants, and an overwhelming smell.

Instead, I find a bid of hospital-style corridors, each starring to respective tiny laboratories.

"The lighting has been bespoke-made, and we really make artificial upwind successful the country to guarantee determination are nary microclimates," James says.

It's truthful bright, we're issued a brace of specially-made glasses to support our eyes.

James explains it takes astir 12 to 14 weeks to make the finished product.

Two weeks of that is spent successful the drying room. As the doorway slides open, the surroundings are notably antithetic - darker and cooler.

Once dried, the plants request to beryllium prepared earlier being packaged.

James takes america into a larger laboratory wherever determination are six people, suited up successful overalls, hairsbreadth nets and gloves.

They person been handpicked owed to their acquisition successful agriculture, oregon involvement successful the business.

The flowers volition spell connected to beryllium packaged and sent to patients.

In September this year, James and the squad secured their 2nd licence, which gave them support to merchantability cannabis.

James believes the situation of getting some licences is the crushed no-one other has been capable to physique an "all-in-one" facility.

"It's astir 2 industries combined into one, truthful it's an cultivation concern and it's a aesculapian and pharmaceutical concern arsenic well, and astir radical person the quality to specialise successful 1 oregon the different but not both," helium says.

The institution aims to instrumentality its merchandise to marketplace successful January. By this point, James says they volition beryllium capable to nutrient capable for 4,000 prescriptions a period - and the institution already has a concern with prescribers and clinics.

There are presently astir 50,000 users of medicinal cannabis, receiving prescriptions from 33 backstage pharmacies.

However, very fewer radical are being fixed the cause connected the NHS.

The crushed for this is that not each medicinal cannabis products are approved for usage by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Those which are, lone usage definite parts of the plant.

Specialist NHS doctors tin prescribe unapproved products if they deliberation the diligent volition benefit, but they person to inquire NHS England to wage for idiosyncratic cases and are often turned down.

Private specialists tin prescribe products unapproved by the NHS, but this often comes astatine a precocious outgo for patients.

A gram of ineligible medicinal cannabis successful angiosperm signifier costs betwixt £5 and £10.

With an mean diligent consuming 0.5g a day, this tin adhd up to arsenic overmuch arsenic £150 per month.

The mean terms of amerciable cannabis is wide reported to beryllium astir £10 per gram.

But ineligible clinics besides necessitate patients to be regular check-ups, which tin outgo a minimum of £180 a year.

To suffice for a medicine done ineligible medicinal clinics, patients request to person archetypal tried different medicines without success.

The Department of Health and Social Care said determination was a request for much probe connected the effects of aesculapian cannabis earlier immoderate changes could beryllium made to however it was prescribed connected the NHS.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: "The NHS already offers respective licensed cannabis-based treatments that person been proven to beryllium clinically effective, approved by the medicines regulator and recommended by NICE.

"Many doctors and nonrecreational bodies rightly stay acrophobic astir unlicensed products, and manufacturers should prosecute with the UK medicines regulatory process to question a licence and supply doctors with the assurance to usage their products."

Laura, a teacher from Nottinghamshire, has bought achromatic marketplace cannabis successful the past to assistance with assorted aesculapian conditions.

"Mostly musculoskeletal, but I person wide nervus damage," she says. "Lots of things going on, which origin maine regular symptom and difficulties with mobility."

Laura is not her existent sanction - she has chosen to enactment anonymous owed to the stigma of utilizing the drug.

Her conditions were truthful achy she was prescribed the strongest of drugs, including ketamine.

Having been referred to a specializer doctor, it was suggested she mightiness privation to look into utilizing cannabis.

"I had to determine if I wanted to bash thing that would enactment my vocation successful jeopardy oregon consciousness well," she says.

She started utilizing cannabis illegally, but was disquieted astir not lone the legality, but besides the safety.

"You're talking astir drugs you bargain disconnected the street, you don't cognize what strain they are, you don't cognize the spot of them," she says.

When ineligible cannabis pharmacies emerged, Laura applied for a prescription.

Having tried a mates of antithetic companies, she present uses a UK-based pharmacy that operates online.

She says she's not acrophobic astir broadside effects sometimes associated with the cause - specified arsenic impaired reasoning oregon representation problems - due to the fact that ineligible cannabis is grown successful cleanable conditions, whereas the achromatic marketplace merchandise tin incorporate contaminants.

And due to the fact that the cause is prescribed and monitored by a doctor, she says her usage is good managed.

But if determination turned retired to beryllium immoderate semipermanent negatives, she feels the benefits would overshadow them.

"I wouldn't privation to beryllium without it arsenic I'd beryllium successful truthful overmuch pain," she says. "If I aftermath up precocious and I haven't had any, I tin commencement to consciousness the symptom creeping in."

Despite the alleviation cannabis gives her, Laura is incapable to archer anyone beyond her adjacent household and friends.

"I bash inactive consciousness a spot comic doing it successful public," she says. "I find myself hiding distant with my portable vaporiser to capable it oregon unfastened my tubs of medication. There is an contented that galore deliberation everyone who takes marijuana is simply a stoner."