Since it was legalised in the UK, the number of medicinal cannabis prescriptions has surged. With demand showing no signs of slowing, one company has ambitions to take production of the drug to a new level.
The BBC has been given access to the factory on the condition the location remains secret.
To enter, we need to prove our identities, go through two secure gates, and finally, pass through a bulletproof door.
The security team is ex-military.
“We have hundreds of CCTV cameras around the place – all infrared,” says James Leavesley, one of the founders of Dalgety.
According to the company, this hi-tech facility is the first in the UK where cannabis can be grown, packaged and sold directly to pharmacies from a single location.
James first became interested in growing legal cannabis six years ago.
Although he comes from an agricultural background, for many years he worked in the oil and gas industry.
In 2018, when cannabis was legalised for medicinal use in the UK, the apparent demand for the drug caught his attention.
“There was a government survey showing there are 1.8 million people in the UK sourcing illicit cannabis to help alleviate their medical conditions,” he says.
That same year, he discussed the issue while sitting around the dinner table with his father and a family friend.
The friend revealed he was also keen to get into the cannabis sector – so they decided to go into business together, and formed Dalgety.
Crucially however, they needed someone who had real-world experience of producing cannabis on a large scale.
They looked to Canada, where the drug has been legal since 2018.
“We knew we wanted to go and look outside the UK for a skilled grower and Canada has been at the forefront of this for so long,” says James.
“Growing cannabis is completely different to any other crop really and we wanted somebody who had experience.”
After extensive research, they decided to headhunt a grower called Brady Green.
Brady had previously designed and set up several licensed cannabis facilities in his native country, and was renowned for his work, says James.
He acted as a consultant for the company for three years, before being recruited as their head grower.
Brady went on to design the entire set-up, including the robust security needed to protect the site.
“We have various access control points, restricted access [controlling] which employees and visitors can go to certain areas,” adds James.
“It’s really important for the amount of cannabis that we’re growing on site that the UK Home Office have comfort that we take our security measures seriously.”
Despite the huge investment for James and his business partners, their efforts came with no guarantee of success.
Growing and selling cannabis legally requires a licence from the Home Office.
Cannabis also needs to be grown to a certain standard, and sent away for testing before it can be approved for sale.
But James and his partners were convinced it was worth the risk, given the strong growth of markets in countries like Canada, the US and Germany.
“We knew that the demand for the product was going to be there,” says James.
In January 2023, Dalgety secured a Home Office licence to grow cannabis, and in April that year they began cultivating.
The crops grown were clones – genetically identical – but despite this, multiple batches still had to be tested to ensure the product was consistent.
In total, more than 600 samples were sent to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The business had spent £8m to £10m to reach this point, so the stakes were high.
Inside the factory
I’m expecting to walk into a cavernous room filled with cannabis plants, and an overwhelming smell.
Instead, I find a series of hospital-style corridors, each leading to several small laboratories.
“The lighting has been bespoke-made, and we actually create artificial wind in the room to ensure there are no microclimates,” James says.
It’s so bright, we’re issued a pair of specially-made glasses to protect our eyes.
James explains it takes about 12 to 14 weeks to create the finished product.
Two weeks of that is spent in the drying room. As the door slides open, the surroundings are notably different – darker and cooler.
Once dried, the plants need to be prepared before being packaged.
James takes us into a larger lab where there are six people, suited up in overalls, hair nets and gloves.
They have been handpicked due to their experience in agriculture, or interest in the business.
The flowers will go on to be packaged and sent to patients.
‘Two industries in one’
In September this year, James and the team secured their second licence, which gave them permission to sell cannabis.
James believes the challenge of getting both licences is the reason no-one else has been able to build an “all-in-one” facility.
“It’s almost two industries combined into one, so it’s an agricultural business and it’s a medical and pharmaceutical business as well, and most people have the ability to specialise in one or the other but not both,” he says.
The company aims to take its product to market in January. By this point, James says they will be able to produce enough for 4,000 prescriptions a month – and the company already has a partnership with prescribers and clinics.
There are currently about 50,000 users of medicinal cannabis, receiving prescriptions from 33 private pharmacies.
However, very few people are being given the drug on the NHS.
The reason for this is that not all medicinal cannabis products are approved for use by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Those which are, only use certain parts of the plant.
Specialist NHS doctors can prescribe unapproved products if they think the patient will benefit, but they have to ask NHS England to pay for individual cases and are often turned down.
Private specialists can prescribe products unapproved by the NHS, but this often comes at a high cost for patients.
A gram of legal medicinal cannabis in flower form costs between £5 and £10.
With an average patient consuming 0.5g a day, this can add up to as much as £150 per month.
The average price of illegal cannabis is widely reported to be about £10 per gram.
But legal clinics also require patients to attend regular check-ups, which can cost a minimum of £180 a year.
To qualify for a prescription through legal medicinal clinics, patients need to have first tried other medicines without success.
The Department of Health and Social Care said there was a need for more research on the effects of medical cannabis before any changes could be made to how it was prescribed on the NHS.
A spokesperson for NHS England said: “The NHS already offers several licensed cannabis-based treatments that have been proven to be clinically effective, approved by the medicines regulator and recommended by NICE.
“Many doctors and professional bodies rightly remain concerned about unlicensed products, and manufacturers should engage with the UK medicines regulatory process to seek a licence and provide doctors with the confidence to use their products.”
Who uses medicinal cannabis?
Laura, a teacher from Nottinghamshire, has bought black market cannabis in the past to help with various medical conditions.
“Mostly musculoskeletal, but I have widespread nerve damage,” she says. “Lots of things going on, which cause me daily pain and difficulties with mobility.”
Laura is not her real name – she has chosen to stay anonymous due to the stigma of using the drug.
Her conditions were so painful she was prescribed the strongest of drugs, including ketamine.
Having been referred to a specialist doctor, it was suggested she might want to look into using cannabis.
“I had to decide if I wanted to do something that would put my career in jeopardy or feel well,” she says.
She started using cannabis illegally, but was worried about not only the legality, but also the safety.
“You’re talking about drugs you buy off the street, you don’t know what strain they are, you don’t know the strength of them,” she says.
When legal cannabis pharmacies emerged, Laura applied for a prescription.
Having tried a couple of different companies, she now uses a UK-based pharmacy that operates online.
She says she’s not concerned about side effects sometimes associated with the drug – such as impaired thinking or memory problems – because legal cannabis is grown in clean conditions, whereas the black market product can contain contaminants.
And because the drug is prescribed and monitored by a doctor, she says her use is well managed.
But if there turned out to be any long-term negatives, she feels the benefits would overshadow them.
“I wouldn’t want to be without it as I’d be in so much pain,” she says. “If I wake up late and I haven’t had any, I can start to feel the pain creeping in.”
Despite the relief cannabis gives her, Laura is unable to tell anyone beyond her close family and friends.
“I do still feel a bit funny doing it in public,” she says. “I find myself hiding away with my portable vaporiser to fill it or open my tubs of medication. There is an issue that many think everyone who takes marijuana is a stoner.”
