An island-based company aims to become the first community-owned medicinal cannabis producer in Europe.

In June last year Grow Lab Organics became the first company in the Isle of Man to secure a licence to grow and export medicinal cannabis commercially.

A year on, it is planning to offer up to 25 per cent of its equity value to patients.

It is seeking investors who suffer from conditions such as multiple sclerosis who struggle to obtain legally the drug which can help them relieve their symptoms.

Grow Lab says it wants to enable patients to live better lives through the power of cannabis.

Chief executive Alex Fray said there had been a lot of interest in the offer.

He said: ‘We are committed to enabling the medicinal cannabis community to have a voice and share in the opportunity as we begin to build our facility.’

He said to have customers who really believe in the benefits of the product to come on board as shareholders would be fantastic and would provide the company with valuable feedback.

He said: ‘It’s tremendously exciting to be a frontier industry – it’s great to be part of that.’

Tynwald amended the Misuse of Drugs Act in 2020 to provide a legal framework for the development of a cannabis industry in the island.

New regulations were introduced the following year to allow commercial operators to grow, manufacture, distribute and export cannabis products under licence.

Grow Lab has submitted a planning application to build its headquarters and production facility on land next to the Ronaldsway Aircraft Company (23/00239/B), which it says will create 60 jobs over three years.

The facility will have 22 separate 200m2 flower rooms and six drying rooms, producing more than 20 unique strains each year.

Heat, energy and water will all be recovered and recycled within the facility and even the plant stalks are turned into the product packaging.

Mr Fray said he hoped the company would be able to grow its own cannabis products from the site by the summer of 2024.

Grow Lab Organic’s licence approval also includes imports and exports.

Mr Fray said this will allow the company to buy quality products from third party producers in other jurisdictions until its own facility is up and running.

He said Grow Lab is looking to hold a public consultation in Castletown on its planning application.

An estimated 1.8 million people across the British Isles are using cannabis sourced from the illicit market to treat medical conditions.

Medicinal cannabis was legalised in the UK in November 2018.

But Grow Lab said to date there has been limited choice, inconsistent quality and expensive prescriptions.

The result is that many go back to the illicit market.

Grow Lab was founded by Mr Fray and fellow entrepreneurs Charlie Price and Charlie Lyons.

The company has teamed up with medical ID card Cancard, the largest cannabis patient group in Europe. Founder Carly Barton is joining the board as chief community officer.