We’re pleased to join forces with Curaleaf to write this piece following our recently announced partnership; a practical step towards a stronger, more resilient UK domestic supply chain for cannabis-based medicinal products.
For patients, clinicians and regulators, the essentials are the same; quality, consistency and confidence. The UK market is evolving quickly, and while imports will continue to play a role, building capability at home matters more than ever; for oversight, traceability, shorter lead times and predictable availability.
What this partnership represents
- End-to-end UK alignment: Dalgety’s controlled cultivation and pharmaceutical-grade production feeding into Curaleaf Labs’ UK manufacturing, testing and batch release.
- Regulatory visibility: Clearer line-of-sight within the UK framework (MHRA, Home Office), from seed to sealed pack.
- Consistency for care: A steadier flow of compliant product so clinicians can focus on clinical decisions and patients can rely on continuity.
This blog explores how that alignment works in practice and why a domestic chain, built on science and compliance, helps strengthen trust across the UK medical cannabis pathway.
The UK’s medical cannabis landscape is maturing fast. Patients need dependable access; clinicians need confidence in quality, consistency and compliance; regulators expect rigorous controls from seed to sealed pack. In that context, a resilient domestic supply chain isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential for trust.
Dalgety’s role begins at the source. We cultivate in tightly controlled environments and operate to pharmaceutical standards so that what leaves our facility is consistent, traceable, and ready for downstream manufacturing. Domestic cultivation means shorter lead times, fewer hand-offs, and clearer oversight; practical advantages that translate into confidence for prescribers and patients.
Bulk raw material arrives at Curaleaf Laboratories for manufacture in their MHRA-approved facility. In-house quality checks take place with the arrival of every batch to quality label claims, before the manufacturing process takes place. Once manufactured, Curaleaf Laboratories has a wide distribution network of clinics, wholesalers and pharmacies that product is made available to order.
Imports will always have a place, but building capacity at home reduces exposure to international bottlenecks and aligns quality controls from end to end. This collaboration exists to make the UK pathway clearer, more accountable, and more consistent, so clinicians can focus on clinical decisions, and patients can rely on continuity of care.
James Leavesley, CEO of Dalgety said, “our job at Dalgety is clear. Cultivate and supply medical cannabis products that meet the strict MHRA EU-GMP and European Pharmacoepia requirements , every time. We control genetics, cultivation, cure, microbial control and release testing to deliver a domestic, traceable, consistent portfolio of products.
In this partnership, we pass the baton to Curaleaf Labs for UK manufacturing of finished patient prescription packs,and distribution to clinics. Keeping the chain at home shortens lead times, improves MHRA/Home Office visibility, and reduces import fragility, so clinicians and patients get reliable access.
Jonathan Hodgson, CEO of Curaleaf Laboratories “By manufacturing in the UK, we ensure better quality control, greater supply chain security and faster access for patients. That’s why our approach has always centred around sourcing high quality cannabis-APIand completing the manufacturing domestically.
The power of UK-based operations (with hard data!)
Reduced reliance on overseas imports
- Every controlled-drug shipment (including CBPMs) needs a Home Office import licence. Single-use, normally processed in ~10 working days, and valid for 3 months. You also need a domestic licence and an NDS account before you can even apply. Keeping production in the UK removes these recurring import steps and their failure points. GOV.UK
- DHSC acknowledged in 2020 that most CBPMs were imported and export restrictions overseas could add weeks or months (e.g., Canada export certificates: 4–8 weeks). Domestic capacity is designed to mitigate precisely these delays. GOV.UK
- Even with the 2020 policy allowing bulk import and storage by licensed wholesalers, the change was introduced because international lead times were too long, further underlining the resilience benefits of a UK supply. The Pharmaceutical Journal
Shorter lead times & greater consistency
- Imports of controlled drugs are licence-by-shipment and cannot be post-dated or issued retrospectively. Any change (route, quantity, product) can trigger re-application, introducing variability that domestic release avoids. GOV.UK
- MHRA (via SPS) can object to importation of unlicensed specials where clinical need or product quality isn’t evidenced – another potential stoppage point for imports that does not apply in the same way to UK-manufactured, released batches already within the domestic system. SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service
Greater regulatory visibility (MHRA & Home Office)
- Unlicensed CBPM imports require MHRA notification at least 28 days before the intended import date, and the importer must hold the appropriate WDA(H) or Manufacturer’s “Specials” Licence; additional controls and touchpoints that disappear when products are made and released domestically. GOV.UK+1
- MHRA’s consolidated guidance on supplying unlicensed “specials” (including CBPMs) makes clear the UK framework for manufacturing, import and distribution, visibility that is most straightforward when all steps (cultivation -> manufacture -> QP release -> distribution) occur within MHRA-inspected UK sites. GOV.UK
The Home Office separately licenses controlled-drug activities (possess/produce/supply/import/export). Operating domestically means fewer cross-border licences per batch and a shorter, clearer oversight chain. GOV.UK
Put simply, keeping everything UK-side swaps a tangle of foreign export permits, per-shipment import licences and 28-day MHRA notifications for one continuous, UK-regulated chain; fewer surprises for clinicians, steadier supply for patients.
In practice, a UK supply chain means no overseas paperwork and no per-consignment hoops, just a single, visible chain that’s easier to plan and harder to disrupt.
