Britain’s Double Standard: The Bastion of Criminalization Leads the Medical Cannabis Market
Many political commentators have long noted the double standard of British authorities regarding the legalization of medical cannabis. Despite lagging behind its neighbors in medical reforms and continuing to strictly prohibit the use of raw cannabis flower for therapeutic purposes, the UK has been a global leader in exporting cannabis products for several years.
Leader in the International Medical Cannabis Market
According to data from the International Narcotics Control Board, about 95 tons of legal cannabis were produced in the UK last year. International trade figures show that all of this product is exported: the UK holds around 45% of the global medical cannabis market, surpassing even Canada, which produces 81 tons for the international market. The report states that, on average, the UK produces about 2 tons of cannabis per month for international consumers, accounting for approximately 68% of the global legal cannabis trade during that period. The Netherlands comes in a distant second, with a monthly export share of just 16%.
Activists’ Discontent
It’s clear that many UK residents are unhappy that medicines which could save lives domestically are being sent abroad. Despite ongoing international trade in medical cannabis, British authorities stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the plant’s therapeutic properties. As a result, many families, such as that of seriously ill Alfie Dingley, have been forced to leave the country to access legal medical cannabis.
“It’s deeply embarrassing that our government continues to claim cannabis is a drug with no medical value, while being the world’s leading dealer of this ‘drug’,” says political analyst Steve Rolles, who works for Transform. “Countries with functioning medical cannabis distribution systems don’t face these kinds of problems.”
Corporate Maneuvering
The main producer of legal cannabis in the UK is GW Pharmaceuticals, a company that has long sought to bring its therapeutic extracts to the US market. Currently, the company’s products are sold in many countries by prescription, mainly used to treat rare forms of epilepsy. Their new drug, Epidiolex, has already received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and is set to enter the American market within the year.
Ethical Conflict
Currently, about one million people in the UK use medical cannabis, but are forced to seek it on the black market. Unsurprisingly, many citizens, like Mr. Rolles, are frustrated by the government’s refusal to heed scientific evidence in favor of national reform.
As he notes, “Such government actions create a serious ethical conflict regarding how politicians treat their own citizens.” Rolles considers restricting people’s right to choose their treatment “a gross violation of one of the most fundamental human rights.”
“The government must ease restrictions on cannabis production to break the existing monopoly. The people of Britain demand an open market and access to medical cannabis, not a senseless war against those seeking medicine,” he says.