A Home Office Licence has been granted to allow local firm Vecticanna to begin cultivating cannabis for research and development purposes — bringing up to 60 new jobs to the Isle of Wight.
The approval comes after a rigorous application and inspection process involving support from top academics, doctors, specialist legal support and Island MP, Bob Seeley, over the past two years.
Based in the West Wight, Vecticanna Ltd will be one of just a handful of approved locations in the UK allowed to legally cultivate various strains of cannabis.
The approval grants permission for cultivation for the purposes of research and development for the treatment of Fibromyalgia and other conditions related to Neuroinflammation.
The primary focus will be on researching the therapeutic and analgesic (pain relief) potential of cannabinoids and full spectrum cannabis extracts, while simultaneously increasing their availability for patients and end consumers.
The facility itself will bring year-round employment opportunities for many Islanders with hopes the site will eventually employ up to 60 people.
The pharmaceutical cannabis marketplace is growing globally and Vecticanna hopes the Isle of Wight can reap the benefits of this.
A solar array will provide lighting and irrigation to the facility, and being a solid structure building will allow no light to escape to help protect the Island’s night sky.
The whole research facility will be fenced, highly secured and monitored.