In a field near Aberdeen, the UK’s first legal cannabis farm
THE spiky green leaves, fuzzy buds and purple flowers are unmistakable.
Cannabis plants – tens of thousands of them – sprout from the ground in orderly rows, ready to be harvested next month on an industrial scale.
It’s a vast and well-organised growing operation which could be mistaken for the work of a South American drug cartel.
Yet this particular crop is not growing in Colombia or Mexico – but in a field in Scotland.
And instead of being farmed for illegal narcotics, these plants are being grown as a lucrative, and completely legal, new crop for Scottish farmers.
In a move that could generate millions of pounds for the economy, around 20 farms across Scotland have, for the first time, swapped traditional crops such as wheat and barley in favour of cannabis plants.
However, anyone who stole a few leaves and tried to smoke them would be in for a disappointment, as the plants are hemp – a type of cannabis that only contains minuscule amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound that creates the typical high of marijuana.
In future, the plants could be used to meet the demands of the booming market for medicinal cannabis products. But at the moment, the crop will be used to supply seeds for oils and possibly plant fibres for several industrial uses.
Graeme Warren, from Aberdeenshire, is among the first Scottish farmers to start growing a hemp crop.
He hopes switching ten acres from barley to a type of cannabis instead could significantly boost his profits.
He said: ‘It is part of a farm diversification that we have been looking at; how we can grow crops that require minimum inputs. The potential range of uses for the crop is really exciting.
‘We are focused on hemp seed at the outset, the health benefits are really interesting. It also allows us to understand how the crop grows in Scotland.’
Mr Warren has teamed up with other Scots farmers and he hopes to produce salad oils and supplements after their first harvest next month.
The next big advance is expected to be the use of the main stem of hemp to produce fibres which can be used in insulation. Car manufacturers such as Audi and BMW are looking to use the fibres in vehicle doors. Researchers at Scotland’s Rural College have found that hemp can be used to make greener versions of petrochemical products such as packaging, insulation and foam cushions.
In order to produce the material, a processing plant is needed, which can cost more than £1 million to establish. With grants and funding, the Scottish sector could establish a processing system here in the next few years.
Mr Warren and other farmers in Scotland use a variety of hemp called Finola, which cannot be used to get high.
Restrictions on growing it come under the Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit of the Home Office. Twelve farms in Aberdeenshire and Angus have set up a cooperative to grow hemp for medicinal purposes and are awaiting licensing.
The Scottish Hemp Association (SHA) is in talks with administrations in Holyrood and London about the future of medicinal cannabis and another compound from the hemp plant extracted from its flowers, CBD.
Kyle Esplin, SHA chairman, said the plant’s seeds can alleviate high blood pressure and diabetes. He added: ‘Farmers can’t use the flowers or the leaves in the UK, even with a licence – meaning they have to be left to degrade. Farmers in Europe can sell the leaves for hemp tea and use the flowers for CBD.’