Scottish Whisky – leading the way for the UK Cannabis Industry

The following summarises an article published in Open Access Government on June 7th 2022. Read full article here.

By Nick Morland, All-Party Parliamentary Group for CBD Products Secretariat, Jersey Cannabis Services Advisory Board chair and Tenacious Labs CEO.

Post-Brexit Britain now has the chance to take the lead and dominate a valuable new worldwide industry, all it needs is the right legislation to become an economic innovator.

Global consumers have recognised the high versatility of cannabis as a product, this being seen both through the array of applications cannabis has had in the market, and through the economic boom the global cannabis industry has created. As of 2022, the worldwide industry has seen a turnover of £20 billion, forecasted to reach £69 billion in 2026 with long-term growth of over 6% annually from then.

 Examples from Colorado paint a promising picture for the UK’s possible future in cannabis, with the 6 million-strong state having an annual turnover of £2 billion with tax of £330 million per year, creating a further 38,000 jobs. A quick extrapolation to the UK’s 67 million population suggests an annual turnover of £22 billion, £3.7 billion in tax, and the creation of nearly 428,000 jobs.

As promising as this is for the post-Brexit UK economy, a lot still stands in the way of establishing the UK as a globally dominant figure in the cannabis market, the first major hurdle being the introduction of a proper legal framework to enable cannabis and hemp industries to operate and invest in the UK market.