Guernsey Elections 2025.

The 117^th Medical Officer of Health Annual Report published in January 2025 notes that "11.9% [reported] cannabis use in the 12 months prior to the 2023 [Guernsey and Alderney Wellbeing] Survey", of which "21.2% had it prescribed to them".

The Bailiwick of Guernsey Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Annual Report 2024 states that 1,599 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis were issued in December 2024.

In 2017, responsibility for the Drug and Alcohol Strategy was transferred from the Committee for Home Affairs to the Committee for Health & Social Care.

As part of their work in developing the new Combined Substance Use Strategy, HSC published a review of the interaction of the health and justice system in relation to the possession of drugs for personal use in 2020.

The subsequent debate on the Justice Review Report prior to the end of the previous term of the Assembly included three amendments that sought to liberalise the law on cannabis. However, a Sursis Motivé was instead adopted that required the Committee for Health & Social Care and the Committee for Home Affairs to "report back to the States with options for alternative and non-punitive approaches to the possession and use of small quantities of illegal drugs".

The Non-Punitive Approaches Project Board was established in 2021 to undertake this work, which included the commissioning of a survey on non-punitive approaches to substance use in early 2022, which attracted over 850 responses.

The States of Deliberation adopted a proposition as part of the Government Work Plan 2022 to undertake the scoping work of a review of the legal status of cannabis to address the issue of decriminalisation/legalisation in Q1 2023. This work was deferred in June 2023 until the next term of the Assembly.

The End of Term report for the Committee for Health & Social Care refers to the review of the legal status of cannabis as work requiring further progression in the next political term.

The regulation of medicinal cannabis in Guernsey is ongoing work for the Committee for Health & Social Care, which was recently described in a response to a rule 14 question.

A follow-up question has since provided a response from the Committee for Home Affairs on the issue of the diversion of prescription medication.

New Road Traffic (Drink Driving) Ordinance was adopted by the Assembly in 2025, which introduces specific limits for the presence of controlled drugs. These limits are yet to be defined by the Committee for Home Affairs.

🇯🇪 Jersey

In 2024, the States Assembly in Jersey adopted part b) of proposition P.31/2024 requiring the Government to bring proposals for the regulation of cannabis. A debate on the subject is anticipated in November, and a consultation on non-medicinal (recreational) cannabis has recently been launched to gauge public opinion.

P.31/2024 part c) was also adopted by the Assembly, which called for cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives (known colloquially as 'cannabis oil') to be reclassified from Class A to Class B drugs inline with cannabis and cannabis resin. This will remove an anomaly in cannabis classification that exists only in the laws of Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar; the UK having removed the distinction in 2003.

Upcoming legislation relating to medicinal cannabis includes the Cultivation Regulations – Medical Purposes and Advertising Order and the Medicines Manufacturing Licensing Regime Regulations.

🇮🇲 Isle of Man

In 2023, the Department of Home Affairs published their Report on Informing Policy to Minimise the Harms Associated with Drug Use in the Isle of Man for debate in Tynwald.

Policy principles to inform the Isle of Man’s approach to tackling harm caused by drugs were subsequently supported by Members in November 2024.

🇬🇧 London

In May 2025, the London Drugs Commission published their report on The Cannabis Conundrum: A way forward for London, which made 42 recommendations including the decriminalisation of possession.

Guernsey prohibited the possession and supply of cannabis in 1934, followed by the UK in 1953 and Jersey in 1966.

Cannabis is currently controlled by the Misuse of Drugs (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1974.

In 2004, a debate was held in the States of Deliberation on the Reclassification of cannabis from a Class B to Class C drug. The proposition was defeated 40 to 13.

In 2018, the States of Alderney held a debate without resolution on the subject of cannabis.

GW Pharmaceuticals undertook clinical trials of Sativex® in Guernsey in 2000.

In 2014, a small number of Islanders were permitted to import and possess cannabis for medicinal use under licence from HSSD.

In 2019, the Misuse of Drugs Law was amended to define medicinal cannabis, following changes in the UK and Jersey.

The law was further amended in 2020 to allow for the importation of medicinal cannabis under licence, allowing Guernsey patients to access clinics in the UK.

Guernsey's first on-island cannabis clinic opened in 2021.

In 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the UK Home Office for medicinal cannabis cultivation licencing, which led to the establishment of the Bailiwick of Guernsey Cannabis Agency.

• Guernsey Drug Strategy Campaign
• Cannabis in the Crown Dependencies
• How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide
• Glossary of cannabis terms

We have assessed the candidates on their stances on cannabis reform based on their votes on propositions relating to cannabis (for former Members), their stances on cannabis issues in the 2020 elections (for former candidates), and their 2025 manifestos, public statements and interactions with the local community.

We have also reached out to the candidates to ask them specifically whether they support the review of the legal status of cannabis in the next term of the Assembly, which was deferred in 2023.

Candidates who are in favour of the regulation of cannabis are denoted as being Positive on the issue of cannabis reform, while those against are marked as Negative. Those who are undecided and open-minded on the issue are denoted as being Neutral.

Filter candidates by stance:

• P.2020/54 - Justice Review Report - Sursis Motivé
• P.2022/80 - Government Work Plan 2022 - Proposition 14B

• GDSC Candidate Responses 2020
• GDSC Deputy Stances 2020