Ban on cultivation of medicinal CBD oil from cannabis ‘unfair’ and ‘senseless’, say farmers UK News

UK farmers and small businesses have described current legislation which prohibits them from growing CBD oil from cannabis plants – while it remains legal to import it from abroad – as ‘unfair’, “Ridiculous” and “foolish”.

This is a second report in just two weeks, backed by farmers, industry bodies and MPs, called for liberalization of ‘absurd’ restrictions around CBD production in the UK.

CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is derived from the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant. But unlike THC – the property that makes cannabis users high – CBD has no psychoactive effects.

It is legal in the UK and is used in a wide variety of wellness products freely available for sale in department stores such as Boots and Holland & Barrett.

But despite this, the plant itself remains a restricted crop under the Drug Abuse Act and its cultivation requires a license issued by the government.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Under the terms of the most commonly issued “Low THC Industrial Hemp License”, farmers are only allowed to harvest the stems and seeds of the hemp plant (a type of cannabis).

While it can be used to make a variety of products such as textiles and building materials, the most valuable part of the plant, the leaves and flowers, must be destroyed.

This means that although CBD is a legal product in the UK and legally imported from overseas, most UK farmers cannot legally produce it.

Steve Barrons owns a 53-acre hemp farm in Cambridgeshire – and has videos of the fires he had to destroy the leaves of his crop with.

CBD market ‘not yet compliant’ with …