Medicinal cannabis sector could boost incomes of British farmers, Tory MP says
Medicinal cannabis sector could boost incomes of British farmers, Tory MP says
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A “progressive approach” to medicinal cannabis could increase British farmers’ incomes, a Conservative former minister has argued. David Mundell, MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, said the medicinal cannabis sector could create tens of thousands of jobs in rural areas.
“This is an industry that is there and ready to grow, ready to create wealth and jobs, and particularly in some of the most difficult rural environments in the UK,” he told Parliament. Medicinal cannabis was legalised in 2018 by Sir Sajid Javid, then home secretary, to allow it to be prescribed by specialist doctors for certain conditions.
Mr Mundell said that Hilltop Leaf, a private medicinal cannabis cultivation and extraction business in his constituency, stands in stark contrast to the “damp, tinfoil-wrapped rooms of illegal production”. He claimed the sector “could potentially bring more than £1 billion to the UK economy”, during a Westminster Hall debate on medicinal cannabis.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Mundell put forward the “economic case for medical cannabis”, adding that “a more progressive approach” could make a difference to the economies of rural constituencies. He said: “The nascent cannabis sector at its core is horticultural in character, and is situated in rural and agricultural communities like the one I represent.
“In my own constituency, I see Hilltop Leaf develop growing and processing facilities, pristine, and equipped with high-tech quantum sensors, microscopes, or leaf barometers. It’s a stark contrast to the damp, tinfoil-wrapped rooms of illegal production.”.
