Patrick Gillett is on a mission to make the cultivation of industrial hemp so widespread in Britain the bureaucracy restricting use of the plant from the cannabis family becomes de facto obsolete.
The 37-year-old social entrepreneur has been frustrated, along with many other UK farmers and businesses, by the government’s failure to loosen regulation of a plant that has spawned one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for food and healthcare supplements.
Hemp, once best known for making rope, also contains non-controlled cannabinoids, which mimic the body’s endocannabinoid system regulating things such as mood and sleep, and which include cannabidiol (CBD). The UK value of CBD products designed to relieve ailments ranging from anxiety to arthritis has grown from next to nothing five years ago to £300-£400m today. It is expected to reach £1bn by 2025, according to industry estimates.