Cannabis Farm Has Been Established

June 11, 1998 - Associated Press

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's first government-sanctioned cannabis farm has been established to grow marijuana for medical research purposes, the company running it said today.

A high-perimeter fence surrounds the $6.5 million greenhouse complex run by GW Pharmaceuticals, the first British research company to be granted government licenses for the cultivation, storage and distribution of cannabis for medical research.

Details of the facility's location and the security measures protecting it are being kept secret to guard against theft, the company said. Initially, the complex will develop extracts of cannabis plants grown under controlled conditions for investigation into whether the drug can be used to safely treat a range of illnesses and, other than smoke it, how patients can use the drug.

"There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that cannabis may have a number of medicinal uses, but there have been very few systematic research programs or controlled clinical trials," said Dr. Geoffrey Guy, founder of GW Pharmaceuticals, which was set up specially to conduct government-sanctioned cannabis research. "Our aim will be to establish the medical facts."

The U.S. government announced last year that it is to spend up to $1 million gathering scientific evidence on the effectiveness of cannabis as a medical treatment.

California and Arizona voters have approved initiatives allowing medical uses for marijuana.

Some research has suggested that the drug is useful in relieving internal eye pressure in glaucoma; for controlling nausea in cancer patients on chemotherapy; and for combating wasting, a severe weight loss associated with AIDS and the HIV virus.

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