In morning trade the Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price has raced higher following the release of an update.
At the time of writing the cannabis company's shares are up 7% to 51 cents.
Why is the Althea share price on a high today?
This morning the medicinal cannabis company provided an update on the Bristol site of its wholly owned subsidiary, MyAccess Clinics.
According to the release, the site has been registered with and received a licence from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.
This means that MyAccess Clinics' Bristol site is the second medical cannabis clinic in the UK to be granted a CQC licence. It is also the first located outside of London with the licence.
Management believes that the approval of the CQC licence is a significant milestone for both MyAccess Clinics and the UK medical cannabis market. This is because it "provides further regulatory acceptance of cannabis-based medicines being utilised as a treatment option for chronic health conditions."
The release explains that CQC registration also allows for domiciliary care. This means MyAccess Clinics prescribers are now available for home care services. Another bonus is that the CQC registration can extend to further clinics as part of the company's expansion plans.
MyAccess Clinics' clinical director, Graham Woodward, was delighted with the news.
He said: "We're delighted to have received our CQC registration and licence, which I am confident will be a turning point for patients who have so far been unable to access medical cannabis in the UK."
"The CQC licence will allow our physicians to prescribe with absolute confidence, along with now being able to assess patients in their own homes. I also trust this development will bring renewed hope for the reported 1.4 million people in the UK using 'street cannabis' to treat their chronic health conditions, now that they will have increased access to expert care and high-quality medical cannabis products," he added.
Elsewhere in the industry today, the Auscann Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AC8) share price and the Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) share price are both pushing higher in early trade.
