People You Should Know: #3 CBD Revolutionary

In 'People You Should Know', I introduce you to fascinating people in my network, with the aim of learning something new and sparking new ideas.

Today we hear from Matt Taylor from Canna Solutions, who partners with cannabis companies to bring CBD consumer products to the UK and EU.

What’s the most interesting thing about your industry?

What is really fascinating about the cannabis space is the opportunity for companies to rip up the rule book of traditional business practises. Cannabis businesses all around the world are creating new and unique business models - enabling them to compete with industry giants across multiple sectors in a very short space of time. 

Look at the largest cannabis companies in the world – Aurora, Canopy, Tilray – they are all pretty much start-ups with only a handful of trading years under their belts. However, in many cases, they are already competing with multinational companies that were established decades and sometimes centuries ago. 

What emerging cannabis companies have over traditional industry is a completely blank canvas with which to build a new and improved operating model from the ground up; and not rely on what is already in existence. For example, many of the big cannabis players are data-driven organisations who are building very sophisticated IT infrastructures which enables them to communicate directly with consumers, react quickly to market demands, connect with the right partners around the world and seamlessly connect different partners in different sectors, functions and jurisdictions. Compare this to a 100-year-old company with decades of inefficient clunky IT infrastructure systems piled on top of one another and it’s easy to see why cannabis start-ups are quickly blazing a trail in well-established industries such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco, drinks and consumer goods.  

The cannabis industry is so fast-moving and this new age of companies, both big and small, are set up to react quickly and efficiently to an ever-evolving landscape. One of the things the winners in this space can do well is form and manage strategic partnerships to enable them to leverage global expertise whilst also tapping into regulatory and market knowledge on a local level. This means companies can react quickly to market needs and set up very strong supply chains in a short space of time; rather than being a new entrance showing up to an established industry and having to conform to traditional operating models; they can rewrite the playbook and outflank big industry through being fast-paced and dynamic. 

Away from the operational side of things, what a blank canvas also provides is an opportunity to address many of the ethical injustices that plague modern-day business - glass ceilings, gender pay gaps, social immobility, racial inequality, environmental issues etc. It is still very early days for the cannabis industry, but I really hope we seize this opportunity and don’t make the same mistakes of the past.  

Can you tell me what you’re working on right now?

We form partnerships with cannabis companies to enable them to move quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, legally into the UK and EU cannabis marketplace. 

Our main focus is on the booming EU CBD consumer goods space. We offer EU compliant CBD product manufacturing along with consultations to guide clients through the fragmented and nuanced EU cannabis regulatory systems. 18 months ago, we entered a joint venture with a family-run, EUGMP accredited UK based pharmaceutical packing company. Our cannabis expertise and industry knowledge coupled with their manufacturing expertise and EUGMP infrastructure have enabled us to offer a level of CBD product manufacturing that is very rare in the EU CBD space. 

As mentioned, the major winners in the space are the ones that can efficiently form and manage partnerships in order to tap into the right expertise. This is exactly what we offer all our partners.

Not only do we operate out of a facility that has best-in-class EUGMP operating practices and a track record of working with some of the biggest pharma, tobacco, food, FMCG companies in the world; we also offer the local level knowledge that is needed to seamlessly move into the UK/EU cannabis sector.    

In addition to manufacturing and consulting for the EU CBD consumer goods sector, we are also active in the medicinal cannabis space. We establish and manage supply chains for companies looking to supply Europe’s newly established medicinal cannabis programmes. Part of our medium-term roadmap is to obtain a controlled drugs license which will enable us to handle THC products and further expand our medicinal cannabis offering. 

What’s the biggest misconception about your industry? 

The long-standing stigma that is attached to the cannabis plant is a misconception that has stunted the progression of many areas of our society including healthcare, economic development, social justice, and climate change. 

When considering healthcare, there is now no doubt that cannabis has medicinal properties. If cannabis was discovered today, scientists would marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia and ability to treat illnesses such as chronic pain, cancer, epilepsy, MS, PTSD and anxiety. However, the non-fact-based, ill-motivated smear campaigns of the past are still deeply rooted in the consciousness of governments and societies. The effects of ‘Reefer Madness’ of the 1930s, Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’ of the 70s and Reagans ‘Anti-Abuse Act’ of the 80s, to name a few, are still reverberating around the world and have all contributed hugely to us being 100 years behind where we should be in terms of utilising the potential of cannabis.   

Although very slow, we are seeing opinions and policies starting to change. There are now approximately 35 countries that have some sort of system for patients to access medicinal cannabis. In 2019, the UK finally moved cannabis from Schedule 1, meaning it has no medicinal value, to schedule 2, which allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicines under certain circumstances. This change to the Misuse of Drugs Act was mainly driven by a well-organised publicity campaign that received public support due to a compelling and difficult-to-challenge emotional narrative of children suffering from epilepsy. However, even with this schedule change, the bureaucratic red tape and strict criteria to prescribing cannabis mean that less than 100 NHS prescriptions have been made in the UK in the last year – which is a drop in the ocean when you consider an estimated 100k to 1m people in the UK are currently using cannabis illegally to treat their illness. Many believe the motivation to reschedule cannabis was a political move rather than a commitment to improving the lives of thousands of patients – I think due to the ongoing inaccessibility of cannabis to patients, I would have to agree. 

The misconception of cannabis and its historical demonisation is also prevalent when you consider the recreational market. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, when you draw a direct comparison to alcohol, and the damage it causes to society, it is hard to fathom why we struggle to have a constructive, honest and frank conversation about cannabis legalisation. Although there is overwhelming statistical evidence that cannabis is much safer than other legal products, (global deaths from overdose per year: Alcohol = 3m, Tobacco = 8m, Cannabis = 0) like all drugs it does carry a risk profile, the most prevalent being that it potentially induces mental health issues in people with psychological predispositions or in young developing brains. The mental health risk is a very valid concern that needs heavily researching and managing. 

A direct counter-argument to the mental health debate is that it is actually prohibition that increases the supply of the strong and more harmful types of cannabis that are associated with mental health issues; resulting in consumers having no choice but to buy harmful strains of cannabis. If the only alcohol that was available today was 60% ABV moonshine, in a short space of time we would likely have a situation similar to that depicted by William Hogarth’s ‘Gin Lane’. The reality is that cannabis, just like alcohol, comes in a huge array of strengths, tastes and effects to suit the consumer. Opening up the market means the consumer is free to pick a product that works for them whilst enabling the government to more efficiently manage and treat potential harmful effects. 

If Boris turned around tomorrow and said they had a well thought out plan to increase tax revenues, alleviate the pressure on the NHS, reduce crime and pressure on the police force, stop money going to criminal gangs, stimulate the economy, reduce social injustice, create thousands of jobs and reduce the suffering of millions of patients, I imagine you would support it.

Who’s the person or company doing amazing things in your industry? 

We have only just started to scratch the surface of truly understanding this incredibly complex plant and the benefits it can offer us. Scientific research is at the heart of progressing this industry. There are a lot of superb cannabis studies being conducted around the world; I have picked a couple of notable studies below…  

One piece of pioneering research is by the Israeli based Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research headed up by Dr Dedi Meiri. Israel has a rich history in cannabis research which dates back to the 1960’s - when Raphael Mechoulam identified and isolated the THC molecule for the first time. Dr Dedi Meiri has continued this incredible heritage through investigating the vast therapeutic potential of naturally-occurring chemicals in the plant known as cannabinoids (THC and CBD are only two of 100+ known cannabinoids) in various cannabis species with a principle focus on how these cannabinoids affect various types of illnesses and body types.

Dedi and his team have embarked on the gargantuan task of databasing the molecular profile of hundreds of cannabis strains and analysing their ability to treat different diseases and patient types. Their ultimate goal is to be able to assign a particular patient class (disease, age, gender, medical data, genetic makeup etc) with the most effective cannabis treatment (strain, dose, and route of administration). This provides a means for evidence-based recommendations for the most suitable, safe and effective cannabis treatment. Dedi Meiri has done some great TED talks on this subject which I would highly recommend. 

Another promising bit of research called ‘PROJECT TWENTY21’ is being carried out by ‘Drug Science’ – a UK based independent scientific body on drugs. The project is led by Professor David Nutt – the neuropsychopharmacologist and former government advisor who famously wrote a controversial report that categorised alcohol as more dangerous than ecstasy and LSD.  

The project will be Europe’s first medical cannabis patient registry and the largest single body of evidence supporting the efficacy of medical cannabis. The aim is to enrol 20,000 patients suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, epilepsy, MS, PTSD, substance abuse and Tourettes by the end of 2021. The project will use real-world data to document the effectiveness, safety, and patient-reported outcomes. It is trials like this that will potentially provide medical policymakers with the evidence they need to begin to expand the medical cannabis sector in the UK

What will your industry look like in 5 years from now? 

I hope to see established medicinal cannabis programmes in the majority of European countries. The advantage we have in Europe is we have seen what does and doesn’t work through observing medicinal programmes in countries like Canada, Israel and Australia. Europe has the opportunity to cherry-pick the best bits of each programme and omit the mistakes that have been previously made. This approach is already being implemented in European countries such as Germany and Denmark; hopefully, this good work continues. 

In terms of recreational cannabis, I don’t think this will be considered by Europe as a whole until later down the line; maybe 5 – 10 years; once the benefits of medical systems have been established, the cannabis stigma is further eroded and we have some solid clinical evidence on the risks. I also think there’s still some work to do in jurisdictions where recreational cannabis is currently legal as they haven’t quite got the formulae right yet. There will need to be a very strong model for full legalisation before Europe even considers taking the plunge. 

The next big thing after cannabis will be other demonised substances such as psychedelics and ketamine. We are already seeing some very promising research coming out of places like Imperial College London, King's College London and John Hopkins University that show the potential for these products to treat conditions like depression, PTSD and Anxiety. Like cannabis, psychedelics are overcoming their stigma and starting to be revered as the next big medical breakthrough.

In 5 years’ time, I would hope to see these new psychedelic industries taking a similar path to cannabis, with the added benefit of learning from the cannabis industries' mistakes. We are already seeing the same circles of investors who did well in the cannabis space starting to move into the early stages of the psychedelics industry. They are similar types of products with similar types of domestic challenges; I believe there will be a lot of collaboration between both industries going forward. 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn and check out Canna Solutions.