📣📣 Grow CEO Update
Grow’s community newsletter all about the ecosystem of medical cannabis written by the team at Grow.
🙌 Welcome to our latest newsletter.
📈 This week Grow’s Co-Founder and CEO Ben Langley reflects on our history, successes, and how we’re moving forward in an always-changing industry.
As we fast approach the end of the year, I wanted to reflect on how far we have come, particularly with the challenges that COVID-19 has presented.
Since co-founding the Company in 2017, everything we do has been geared around ensuring high quality and affordable cannabis medicines are made accessible to patients that will ultimately see their lives greatly improved as a result. We will never waiver from this ultimate goal.
There are millions of patients around the world that could - and should - get access to cannabis medicines, but, currently, we only see a very small fraction of people obtaining it through prescriptions from their doctors. 2021 has been a milestone in terms of increasing people’s awareness and perception of medical cannabis.
We’ve progressed from helping a small number of patients to thousands since the beginning of the year and that number continues to increase as we build a network of specialist doctors to prescribe personalised medicines to suit every individual in need.
COVID-19 has impacted the industry greatly, as it has for many other industries, of course. Discussion around making the necessary changes to medical cannabis legislation have slowed down during the pandemic. But one significant positive has been the decision to allow remote doctor consultations and the prescribing of cannabis medicines since March of last year due to the national lockdown and patients’ inability to physically get to their clinic. This is a new way of working that is likely to continue beyond the pandemic and allows patients to access a clinic virtually and is not dependant on where they live.
Where we set ourselves apart as a biopharmaceutical company is in our drive to research and develop cannabinoids with therapeutic effects as we strive to unlock the potential of medicinal cannabis.
There has been little innovation in cannabis for over 100 years because it has been an illegal substance and, since its legalisation in the UK in 2018, we are diligently working to discover this plant’s true potential. Product innovation will, ultimately, lead to better patient outcomes.
As part of our expansion strategy to reach more international markets, we made our first acquisition of the leading medical cannabis producer, Sanoid Isolates, located in Spain. The acquisition provides us with the ability to control our own supply chain and ensure access to low-cost products for patients. Ultimately, as a young company, we are very environmentally aware, and we strive to ensure sustainability and create as light a footprint as possible in our work.
Traditionally, energy consumption in light, temperature and air control for indoor cultivation is incredibly high and potentially devastating, with studies in California showing that indoor cultivation of cannabis alone accounts for 3% of total power consumption in the state! Under the Andalusian sun, our cannabis plants are grown in hybrid greenhouses protecting our crop from aerial pollution and storms and we use local mountain water for crop hydration, so our environmental footprint is minimal. This sustainable way of growing enables us to develop low-cost, quality medical cannabis, making it affordable for many more patients.
As one of the first British medical cannabis start-up companies to raise funds through crowdfunding, we are delighted to welcome our new investors to our community. The funds raised will contribute towards expanding the facilities at Sanoid, as well as supporting the UK in raising awareness and helping to unlock the potential of cannabis medicines to improve patients lives globally in a sustainable environment.
“Medical cannabis is a real opportunity to improve the pharmaceutical industry, making personalised, rather than generic, medicines”
There is an opportunity as an industry to do something really quite special for patients and make a huge difference in their lives. Medical cannabis is a real opportunity to improve the pharmaceutical industry, making personalised, rather than generic medicines, that suit each person, to drive the best outcomes for the patient. We can drive ethical commercial success to help patients globally and we are well on track of meeting our mission of being the leading cannabis provider to patients, in terms of patient numbers, by 2025.
The future is looking bright and I’m delighted that you’ve chosen to join our community. Together, as one voice, we can make a real difference.
Ben Langley, Co-Founder and CEO, Grow Group PLC
👀 Keep an eye out for our next newsletter as we move towards a monthly publication! There’s plenty of insightful and exciting commentary to come.
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