THE Boltonian behind the first North West company to produce legal cannabis has hit out at the problems faced selling the product.

Lancashire osteopath Nick Tofalos has set up CBD One, a company selling cannabis oil.

A former drama teacher at Thornleigh College, Nick has been working in health care for 12 years, running two practices as well as a health food shop in Garstang.

The product cannabidiol, known as CBD, is one of the chemical compounds found in cannabis. It was made legal in the UK after being classed as a medicine earlier this year.

Despite being above board and having hundreds of interested customers, Mr Tofalos, aged 47, has faced obstacles.

This include the service supporting online transactions refusing to work with the company and social media not allowing payments to promote and boost posts advertising the product.

He said: “I don’t know if it was a misunderstanding or what, but we were shut down within one minute of us going live. It is completely legal and they put a stop on us.

“It feels like organisations are lined up to try and prevent this happening regardless of the law.”

THC, the cannabis compound which makes people ‘high’, has been removed from the legal products which come in different forms, including an oil which can put on the tongue or put in liquid and digested.

CBD has been known to help people suffering from cancer and chronic pain, to anxiety.

The former Canon Slade pupil who lives in Earby, came up with the idea and launched the website with the support of his family from Smithills.

It follows the death of his brother Constantine, known as Deno, a former Bolton News photographer, at the age of 42 in 2012 after battling multiple sclerosis.

He explains: “The only thing stopping us getting something like the product was it being illegal. there was nothing I could do but watch my brother waste away.

“It is at the back of my mind and you want to help other people through those difficult times.

“The number of enquiries I’ve had have been unrelenting!”

CBD One imports the oils from Holland and is signed up to the Cannabis Trade Association - the industry’s regulatory body.