WONDER WEED

From one miraculous plant, we can make food, clothing, rope, paper, fuel and even building materials. It flourishes in British soils and could help save the planet. There's just one problem: it's cannabis

- Robert Banino

Bad weather is good at highlighting poor clothing choices. I'd chosen to wear walking boots for my trip to Margent Farm as it was a wet summer's day. But as owner Steve Barron walked me through the rain-soaked, knee-high grass surrounding one of his fields, and cold water began leeching up my jeans, I saw the wisdom of his decision to wear Wellingtons.

Steve's 21-hectare farm in Cambridgeshire used to grow wheat but, since he took over in 2016, it has become home to a different crop. When I visited in June 2021, the plants sown just a few weeks earlier were already a metre high in places. Although difficult to identify from a distance, up close they were unmistakable: Steve was growing cannabis. 

LETTER OF THE LAW

Cannabis is a Class B drug and has been a controlled substance in Britain since 1928. As such, it's unlawful to possess, supply, produce, import or export the drug - and it is an offence to cultivate cannabis plants. But Steve is in no danger of being arrested, because not all cannabis plants are illegal to grow.