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WQ.2/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM, SPORT AND CULTURE BY DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 21st JANUARY 2020
Question
Will the Minister explain what process must be followed in order for an individual to obtain a licence for the growing and possessing of medicinal cannabis and will he ensure that information about the process will be made publicly available, as is the case in Guernsey?
Answer
Any individual or company seeking to obtain a licence for the cultivation and processing of cannabis for use in the production of a cannabis-based medicinal products must make an application to the Minister for Health and Social Services. There is no set application form but potential applicants will be required to submit an application that covers all the points set out in application guidance.
This application guidance is available on request and is still evolving. The intention is to make this publicly available once the final details of the process have been finalised with the UK Home Office.
Any jurisdiction issuing licences to cultivate cannabis (other than industrial hemp) is required, under the provisions of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to have a national Cannabis Agency. The UK is the State that is party to this convention, which was extended to Jersey, and the Home Office is designated as the National Cannabis Agency for the purposes of the Convention. Negotiations are ongoing with the Home Office and it would currently be premature to publish information about the process until it is finalised.
Applications will only be considered where the applicant can demonstrate that the cultivated cannabis will be used in the production of a cannabis-based medicinal product manufactured to UK/EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. Cannabis-based medicinal products must be manufactured to GMP standards in order to be legal in Jersey.
There is therefore no intention to consider licence applications from individuals who may wish to cultivate their own cannabis for the purposes of self-medicating as the cannabis product produced would most probably be unlawful as it would not be produced to GMP standards.
Depending on the nature of the activities an applicant wishes to undertake, there will be different licencing requirements. Licences granted under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 will be required for any operation that involves the cultivation of cannabis plants, and also the production, possession and supply of any controlled substances derived from cannabis plants.
If the intention is to produce a cannabis-based medicinal product, or the final raw ingredients that will subsequently be used in the production of a cannabis-based medicinal product, a licence under the provisions of the Medicines (Jersey) Law 1995 will also be required. This licence would authorise the manufacture of a medicinal product or of the active pharmaceutical ingredients to be used in a medicinal product. A pre-requisite for obtaining such a licence would be the ability to demonstrate that the applicant was compliant with UK/EU GMP standards.