First Legal Cannabis Farm in Scotland is Just Around the Corner!

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First Legal Cannabis Farm Coming to Scotland

This month building work began on Scotland’s first cannabis farm with completion expected by March 2021, despite the challenges of the current pandemic. The 11,000 square meter facility located in Langholm, in the Dumfries and Galloway district, will consist of a large greenhouse with surrounding water storage tanks and offices. The project is headed by Hilltop Leaf Ltd, a private cannabis cultivation and extraction business, and has received funding from the South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). The facility will be focused on producing medicinal cannabis oils (with an aim of 200 liters a year) for the domestic and European market.

The project started by local agricultural entrepreneurs William and Neil Ewart received £690,000 capital investment from SOSE and is expected to create at least 50 jobs. These range from agricultural labour roles to technical quality assurance personnel, helping boost the local economy as well as the UK’s standing in the medical cannabis industry. Professor Russel Griggs, SOSE chairman told the BBC "this is an exciting project and offers a fantastic opportunity for Hilltop to help the rural economy of Dumfries and Galloway by creating local jobs and supporting existing businesses”.

With most cannabis-based medicines prescribed in the UK being imported from abroad, projects like this will help boost the domestic medical cannabis supply as well as increasing sales to the international market. Hamish Clegg, CEO of Hilltop Leaf Ltd said "we hope to rival other countries such as Canada, Germany, and Israel where the medical cannabis industry is already well established."

The medical cannabis industry in the UK still has a long way to go, but this local business hopes to support more prescriptions of domestic medical cannabis which is currently relatively stagnant. Hamish Clegg said that the company “aims to provide an affordable and widely available solution to patients suffering from a range of conditions from chronic pain to severe epilepsy, easing pressure on the NHS". Although planning permission and other checks have all passed, the company is yet to apply for its medical cannabis license from the Home Office. Neil Ewart is highly optimistic but admits “that’s the next big hurdle”. 

Hilltop Leaf is not the only company with its eyes set on growing cannabis in rural Scotland, earlier this year Australian firm LeafCann was in discussions with North Ayrshire Council with rumors suggesting they are scouting potential sites in Irvine. More broadly in the UK cannabis agriculture is picking up, with various firms building farms at sites in Wiltshire and Kent. Pending licenses front the Home Office, the future of rural UK looks set to be green.