Industry’s plan to accelerate prescribing of medical cannabis

The medical profession, the NHS, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the civil service have delivered “almost glacial” progress in the prescribing of medical cannabis, a panel agreed at the launch of a UK hedge fund for the nascent business.

Panellists, including the Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, called for investors to fund lobbying for faster change to benefit patients—and speculators.

Dubbing itself the first such UK fund, JPD Capital welcomed potential investors to the top of the Gherkin tower earlier this year. On the 40th floor, against a 360° backdrop of the city of London, they were treated to champagne, canapes, and a panel brimming with enthusiasm for the unlicensed treatments.

JPD owns fledgling cannabis businesses in Zimbabwe and Antigua and is planning “strategic acquisitions” and growth by “investing in high potential cannabis companies from seed to sale.”

A minimum stake from investors of £25 000 (€28 000; $31 000) could yield “double digit returns annually,” with “minimal risk,” the fund’s chief executive, Jon-Paul …