Last Updated on 19th September 2020

The UK Home Office has awarded a license for a cannabis company to begin growing marijuana in Somerset.

The company, Sativa Cultivation and Extraction Ltd, was granted a Controlled Drug license to begin growing high-THC cannabis at its headquarters in Somerset. The license allows for the cultivation, production, possession and supply of high-THC cannabis plants.

“We are delighted to receive this licence, responding to calls from regulators, government and healthcare providers for further research and development into the efficacy of medicinal cannabis,” said Sativa chief executive Henry Lees-Buckley.

Under this license, Sativa will be allowed to grow plants with a THC content over 0.2%, the limit which separates hemp from cannabis. Sativa had previously been granted a license to grow hemp plants with a THC percentage below 0.2 to remain legal in the UK in 2018.

These new THC-rich plants will take roughly 12 weeks to reach full maturity, and will be grown from seeds sourced from an EU approved supplier.

Sativa is also set to begin a research partnership with King’s College London to study the impact of cannabinoids on respiratory conditions and inflammation.

SCE is a subsidiary of Sativa Group PLC, a medical cannabis and CBD wellness investment group. The company began as the UK’s first listed medicinal cannabis investment vehicle.