Do you think the main challenge facing medical cannabis today is related to public perception, regulation, or a lack of talent in the sector?
Regulation moves when the industry is credible. Regulators don’t wake up one day and decide they’ve “gone soft” on cannabis — they respond to well-run, compliant, clinically grounded businesses that can demonstrate patient safety, quality standards, pharmacovigilance, and governance. If operators aren’t operationally watertight, the conversation stays stuck in caution-mode. If they are, regulators can engage seriously, because the risk profile becomes manageable.
Public perception follows operational success. In the UK, perception is still heavily shaped by legacy stigma and sensational headlines. The fastest way to change that isn’t a marketing campaign — it’s consistent, boring excellence: safe prescribing, clear outcomes, strong clinical leadership, robust supply chains, and fewer avoidable mistakes. When patients get reliable access and good care, and when businesses behave like proper healthcare organisations, trust builds. Trust improves perception. Improved perception reduces political risk. And the cycle continues.
Even the “regulation and perception” work is ultimately a talent game. Lobbying bodies, trade associations and patient groups don’t win by shouting louder — they win by putting the right people in the room: people who understand policy, can speak the regulator’s language, have the right networks, and can build coalitions. If you have experienced operators and credible advocates, you can steer the regulatory landscape. Without them, you’re reacting to it.
That’s also why this general rule applies across Europe, even though every market is at a different stage. Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal… the regulatory structures and maturity levels vary, but the same formula tends to hold:
Good talent → good businesses → good industry standards → improved perception → better regulatory outcomes.
If I had to summarise it bluntly: talent is the horse that leads the cart. Regulation and public perception matter enormously, but the quickest way to influence both is to raise the quality of the people building and representing the sector.
