The cultivation of medicinal plants is currently the main way of providing the pharmaceutical industry with raw materials for obtaining biologically active substances for the production of drugs. The use of natural resources of wild species is decreasing every year for a number of reasons, the biotechnological method has not been properly expanded yet, and in some cases it is possible to reproduce only a part of the complex of target biologically active substances contained in an intact plant. In recent years, a positive growth trend has been outlined in the domestic production of medicinal starting materials of herbal origin. However, there are a number of problematic issues that inhibit the development of medicinal plant growing and lead to a certain stagnation. These are general legislative and organizational problems, as well as deterioration or deficiency of material resources - basic production assets, lack of comprehensive mechanization, shortage of qualified specialists and a number of other obstacles. Nevertheless, the actively growing demand for high-quality raw materials from medicinal plant both in our country and abroad opens up great prospects for the development of medicinal plant production. It should be noted that the analysis of the current state of collection and cultivation of medicinal plants in Russia is poorly developed or is practically absent. The paper examines the current state of medicinal plant production; attempts are made to identify the main problems and possible growth points. Finding solutions to the problems and using the growth points show promise for the transformation of medicinal plant production into an industry with a large import substituting and export potential.