Our expertise
Our strength is our deep understanding of regulatory law and criminal law, and how to work closely with other professionals to achieve our clients’ goals. This skillset, coupled with decades of experience dealing with government agencies and regulators, uniquely positions us to assist our clients with:
- preparing applications to the UK Home Office for controlled drug licences, including for cultivation of cannabis and the production of other Schedule 1 drugs;
- assembling teams of experts and coordinating specialists in design, security, transport and the destruction of controlled drugs;
- assisting clients during Home Office site compliance visits and liaising directly with members of the Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit;
- advising corporates in relation to anti-money laundering (AML) and POCA considerations, including in relation to international trade, mergers and acquisitions;
- advising retail brands considering branching out into the wellness sector, including in relation to CBD and novel foods regulation by the Food Standards Agency;
- representing individuals and corporates facing allegations brought under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in interviews under caution and dawn raids;
- challenging product seizures and forfeiture proceedings brought by UK Border Force, the National Crime Agency (NCA), police forces, and other agencies; and
- conducting due diligence and preparing reports on all aspects of controlled drug licensing, AML, and POCA for use in support of initial public offerings (IPOs).
Our experience
Examples of our instructions include:
- Advising and assisting a medicinal cannabis research start-up, and now LSE-listed company, in applying to the Home Office for a Schedule 1 controlled drug licence. Our client is now a leader in medicinal cannabis research and drug development.
- Advising and assisting an AQUIS-listed company in applying to the Home Office for a Schedule 1 controlled drug licence to cultivate cannabis in connection with agricultural research, with a view to ultimately supplying high quality cannabis for use in the development of medicines.
- Advising an exciting new CBD lifestyle brand on proposals to introduce CBD products for sale at a major UK heritage retailer. This instruction required a detailed analysis of the laws and regulations controlling the possession and supply of CBD products which may contain trace elements of controlled cannabinoids.
- Forming part of a team of advisors assisting a medicinal cannabis start-up in preparing for an IPO to list on one of the major UK stock exchanges. A part of this instruction we were responsible for advising on and preparing due diligence reports in connection with controlled drug licensing, AML, and POCA considerations.
- Helping UK companies navigate their way through the POCA implications of investing in cannabis, including applications to the NCA and obtaining consent.
- Challenging seizures of CBD products and assisting with interviews under caution of company directors where criminal allegations were made under the 1971 Act (discontinued following our representations).
John Binns and David Hardstaff are contributing authors on liability and criminal law, with a particular focus on cannabis, in The Law and Regulation of Medicines and Medical Devices, published by Oxford University Press.