Investors

Several years ago, I started to notice Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPM) in the news. In one particular week towards the end of 2017, I heard it mentioned three times in as many conversations. It was then I realised I needed to look more closely into it.

At the time, I was recovering from a shoulder operation following a skiing accident and had been prescribed an opiate-based painkiller. It numbed the pain alright, but after experiencing some very unpleasant side effects, including drowsiness, I decided to stop taking them.

What I’d heard prompted me to try some CBPM instead, and this more natural approach gave me some relief, yet without the associated symptoms mentioned above. By comparison, the CBPM didn’t give me any side effects and I felt some relief in the constant throbbing of my shoulder.

This first-hand experience increased my interest, and I started having discussions with a new manufacturer who was about to embark on building a super high-tech, EU-GMP facility (now up and running). As I monitored developments in Germany and other EU countries, it became obvious that it was only a matter of time before the UK followed, so I decided to found Medisonal to help patients access medical cannabis.

In early 2018, several high-profile UK cases gave CBPM the exposure it needed. On 1 November 2018, some incredible lobbying of the UK government by parents of children affected by conditions known to be treatable with CBPM led, at last, to the reclassification of cannabis to schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs act of 1971. Despite this, over two years later, access to cannabis-based medicine in the UK remains a challenge.

Since 2017, I have been researching the UK market and seeking out the best management team to accompany me on my Medisonal journey. Today, I’m proud to have in place a core management and advisory team who are each ‘best-in-class’, experienced in their own field and bringing a unique skill set to the table.

Meanwhile, as I foresaw, developments are gaining momentum. These developments will see medical Cannabis shed its taboos and become as accepted as other plant-based remedies with incredible healing properties.