Birmingham City FC to sell cannabis extract drink on match days

Birmingham City Football Club has announced a partnership with Green Monkey CBD

Drinks containing cannabis extract are to be sold on match days at Birmingham City Football Club.

The Blues have announced a partnership with city-based Green Monkey CBD, which will begin to sell its products at Saturday's match against Stoke City.

The club said it was "delighted" to be one of the first clubs to partner with a cannabidiol, or CBD, drinks brand.

Professor in substance use Harry Sumnall said CBD products had become "big business".

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a legal cannabinoid with an estimated quarter of a million regular users in the UK who say it supports general wellness, eases anxiety, sleep problems and chronic pain, among other things.

Last year, Scottish Premiership club Hamilton Academical renamed their stadium after a company involved in the sale of CBD products.

While Saracens rugby players George Kruis and Dominic Day claim cannabis oil products, which contain CBD, "put our bodies back together".

The first game when Green Monkey CBD products will be stocked is this Saturday, for the visit of Stoke City

Ian Dutton, chief commercial officer at the Blues, said: "As a club we are always looking to be innovative and create industry firsts with our partnerships programme."

Green Monkey CBD's most prominent product is a 250ml carbonated canned drink that contains 10mg of broad-spectrum CBD.

CEO Serge Davies said the partnership was a "natural tie-in" for the company, adding it could not make any medical claims about the drink but it was designed as an entry-level product to the market.

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Mr Sumnall, of Liverpool John Moores University, said of the CBD products: "I don't think there is anything wrong with a partnership with a football company, it would be the same as a partnership with an energy drink or vitamin supplement.

"As long as people are operating within existing regulations, it is not as if we are talking about cannabis, it is not an elicit substance, there is a growing industry, people are employed within the industry - it is fair game," he said.