The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis welcomes the recent announcement from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regarding the process for approving manufacturing authorisations or API registrations of Cannabis Based Medicinal Products (CBMPs).
The piece outlines the MHRA and Home Office licensing requirements for companies and facilities operating within the UK, and provides clarity on the chronological approach for companies that do not already hold the necessary authorisations from either government department that wish to establish facilities within the UK. This announcement, building on work
outlined in The Hodges Review and Decalogue relating to the streamlining of the domestic licensing process, resolves an issue which has thus far disseminated confusion in the industry and prevented the establishment of domestic facilities.
This increase in transparency will encourage investment and lay the groundwork to help build a healthy domestic cultivation, production and manufacturing medicinal cannabis industry in the UK. We hope that this announcement signals a government recognition of the growth potential
that the cannabis industry holds for the UK post-Brexit, and that we will see further clarifications and calibrations of legislation moving forward as well as a more coordinated approach from the Home Office and Department of Health. This will allow the UK to maximise the potential it has to advance scientific discovery and innovation, improve well-being, create jobs and investment in local economies, and enhance the health outcomes of potentially millions of people. We will continue to work with the Home Office, MHRA and all other relevant public authorities in the
spirit of collaboration as outlined in the Hodges Review to facilitate a sustainable and regulated medicinal cannabis industry in the UK.