Cannabis Industry.
What refinements can be made to our cannabis industry?
Fine-tuning governance.
The Cannabis Coordination Group has been established to facilitate "a cross-government approach"
to the cannabis industry, while a Political Oversight Group has been setup to "oversee the ongoing development of this new sector within the rural economy"
.
The Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel have recently completed a review of the medicinal cannabis cultivation industry, proposing 24 recommendations.
The subsequent response to the Scrutiny Panel's report from the Minister for Economic Development accepts/partially accepts 11 of the Panel's recommendations.
Recommendation:
- The next Government should ensure that the accepted recommendations of the EIA Scrutiny Panel report on the medicinal cannabis cultivation industry are implemented in order to provide improved management of this sector.
At present, there is little information available about the Island's cannabis industry published by Government other than the Draft Jersey Licence Application Guidance produced in response to a Written Question in the States Assembly, and a video guide on Cannabis production in Jersey released in November 2021.
A Freedom of Information request in February 2021 stated that the approved cannabis cultivation guidelines would hopefully be published "within the next two months"
. However, to date they remain unpublished despite an expectation that they would be approved following the publication of the related Scrutiny Review by the Economic and International Affairs Panel in January 2022.
In contrast, the Government of Guernsey has made available detailed information on the application process since late 2019, while the Isle of Man launched a dedicated website in June 2021.
Recommendation:
- In order to adequately inform the public and prospective applicants about Jersey's cannabis industry, the Government should be transparent and proactive in the communication of both past and future developments.
Increase the limit of THC in industrial hemp.
The current limit for the content of THC in industrial hemp varieties grown in Jersey cannot exceed 0.2%, inline with the UK definition.
The EU has recently increased their limit for THC in hemp from 0.2% to 0.3%, inline with the USA.
Other jurisdictions, such as Switzerland, several Australian states and more recently the Czech Republic, specify a limit of 1% THC in industrial hemp.
Recommendation:
- Consideration should be given to increasing the limit of THC permitted in industrial hemp in Jersey, which would significantly increase the number of varieties available for cultivation.
Redefine the limit of THC in OTC end products.
Jersey currently allows up to 3% THC weight-by-weight of CBD in over-the-counter end products, following Guernsey's definition.
There are over 100 known cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant, of which the UK Misuse of Drugs Law 1971 deems 12 to be psychoactive.
Cannabis has a complex chemistry, with hundreds of terpenes and dozens of flavonoids also present that all work in concert to produce an entourage effect on the body — where the sum is greater than its constituent parts.
The way in which the ratios of these chemicals differs between cultivars has led to thousands of different varieties available today that each have their own distinct qualities.
Given the diversity of cannabinoids and their potential applications, it would be more appropriate to provide a generic definition of non-psychoactive to psychoactive cannabinoids rather than the present ratio of CBD to THC.
Implementing a change of definition in this manner would facilitate the development of products focused on other cannabinoids such as CBG that are currently not permitted to contain any THC.
Recommendation:
- Consideration should be given to updating the legal definition of OTC cannabis end products to permit a specified ratio of non-psychoactive to psychoactive cannabinoids.