A Busy Week for Cannabis and Industrial Hemp: Government Talks & A Washington DC Global Summit Announcement

Tuesday this week was a particularly busy one. The morning was spent at the UK Home Office having a productive conversation with a government minister on the economic, social, and climate opportunity of industrial hemp.

We covered a lot of ground, not least:

1.⁠ ⁠Net Zero & Land Use – With the government launching its Land Use consultation this week, there’s never been a better time to make the case for hemp as a climate solution. Hemp captures 9-15 tonnes of CO₂ per hectare annually, improves soil health as a cover crop, and supports sustainable farming. This should be at the heart of any land-use strategy.

2.⁠ ⁠Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – With the Heathrow third runway now green-lit, we must focus on making flying more sustainable. Industrial hemp is a high-yield, carbon-sequestering feedstock for biofuels. If the UK is serious about leading in SAF, we need policy and investment to match.

3.⁠ ⁠Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Reform – POCA remains a major barrier to inward investment in industrial hemp. It prevents legal businesses from accessing the capital they need to scale, stifling job creation, tax revenue, and rural development. Reforming POCA is not about deregulation—it’s about ensuring investment flows into the UK, rather than overseas, where our competitors are already pulling ahead.

Good so far. And then the day got better.

In the afternoon, the Global Cannabis Regulatory Summit (GCRS) was officially announced. In March, regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders from across the world will meet on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to set the foundations for a globally harmonised cannabis framework. My co-founder Adrian Clarke and I are proud that Tenacious Labs is playing a key role in bringing this invitation-only event together in support of our co-hosts Artemis Growth Partners (Will Muecke and E. Stanton McLean) and a stellar line-up of global partners.

This is not a talking shop. It’s a white paper-generating working summit — where the future of global cannabis regulation will be shaped. For patients, for businesses, for economies.

Momentum is building. If the UK wants to lead, we must act now.

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