CANNABIS GROWER SET FOR LISTING

GW Pharmaceuticals, poised to become the world's first company to
derive a medicine from cannabis, is to announce plans for a London
listing that could value it at up to Pounds 170m.

GW's listing on the Alternative Investment Market will be accompanied
by a Pounds 16m institutional placing by its adviser Collins Stewart.
The proceeds, and Pounds 5.5m already in the bank, will be used to
increase the production of cannabis and fund clinical trials of its
drugs.

The company grows 15 tonnes of cannabis a year under government
licence in a secret location in England to develop drugs against diseases.

GW's most advanced product is a drug for multiple sclerosis, which is
due to be submitted to the UK medicine watchdog in 2003. If approved,
it will become the world's first cannabis-based medicine and is
expected to trigger a change in the UK drug laws.

An estimated 3,000 MS sufferers already break the law by smoking
cannabis to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. GW's product is
delivered through a spray.

Analysts estimate GW's MS drug could reach maximum sales of Pounds
500m a year. The condition is poorly treated by existing drugs.

Geoffrey Guy, GW's executive chairman, said GW had decided to float to
raise the funds needed to support its product pipeline and continue
strong growth.

"Flotation will enable GW to develop into a pharmaceutical company
capable of establishing a position in several large markets," he added.

GW plans to sell the rights to products to pharmaceutical companies,
which would pay for marketing, in exchange for a percentage of sales.

Mr Guy, who will own nearly 30 per cent of the company after the
listing, founded GW in 1998. Since then it has raised Pounds 12m from
individuals and institutional investors, including investment boutique
Bradmount Investments.

Last year, GW had a cash burn of Pounds 3m, which is expected to
double this year as the MS products moves into the last phase of
clinical trials. The group is expected to make its first pre-tax
profit in the year to September 2004.