The Isle of Man has approved its first medical cannabis business license, according to BBC News.
The island’s Gambling Supervision Commission, which oversees the industry, has awarded GrowLab Organics (GLO) a conditional license to cultivate, extract, manufacture, import and export medical cannabis, the news outlet reported.
Enterprise Minister Tim Crookall told BBC News that the license approval “represents the dawn of a new economic sector” in the country that will result in “high-value economic diversification.” He said the industry will provide new jobs and training opportunities, and “encourage inward investment.”
GLO co-founder and CEO Alex Fray told BBC News that the company expects to create more than 50 jobs within the next three years.
The Gambling Supervision Commission opened the medical cannabis business license application process in June 2021, the news outlet reported.
Medical cannabis remains unavailable on the Manx NHS and there are currently no physicians authorized to prescribe it to patients, but the Isle of Man has granted a license to Karsons Pharmacy in Onchan to import and dispense medical cannabis products to those with private prescriptions, according to BBC News.
“The emerging cannabis sector is potentially the most exciting global development of this generation and has the capability to transform the quality of life for millions of people,” Fray told the news outlet. “GLO’s mission is to help people live better through the power of cannabis, whilst reducing the need for people to source cannabis from illicit sources for medicinal purposes."
