As the row over medical cannabis usage in the UK continues, Amy Fleming visits the only people in the country with a licence to grow marijuana
IN A vast glasshouse in the south of England, cannabis cultivator David Potter is rubbing a plant labelled “Skunk #1” to unleash its unique faecal odour. He is surrounded by different varieties, all in heady bloom under the light sensors, ceiling shades and lamps at GW Pharmaceuticals’ cannabis breeding and medicine production facility. It is the only firm able to grow the plant in the UK.
Wearing a white lab coat, he next coaxes out a lemon and pine aroma from a wild Afghan plant. You would never guess that it is a close relative …