Deputy seeks clarity on cannabis MoU between Guernsey and UK

Wednesday 12 January 2022

Deputy Gavin St Pier will be pursuing further clarity on why a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the UK Home Office in relation to the cultivation of medicinal cannabis is shrouded in secrecy.

The Committee for Health and Social Care revealed that the MoU might be published in full in the future, after responding to a series of Rule 14 questions posed by Deputy St Pier.

Previously, only the cultivation and production of CBD products was sanctioned on the island. Since the agreement was reached in the summer, local businesses have been able to apply for licences enabling the growth of plants with higher THC content. These plants can be used to produce medicinal cannabis products, which are only available by prescription in the British Isles. 

At the time, this was hailed as a moment which would unlock significant economic opportunity for the island. Deputy Neil Inder, President of the Committee for Economic Development, said: “The MoU ensures that the Bailiwick can continue to remain at the forefront of a developing sector that provides diversification to our economy, revitalisation of our environment, and new opportunities for skills and employment.”

Pictured: Some market intelligence agencies estimate that the European cannabis market will be valued at £16.1 billion by 2024.

However, the Memorandum itself has not since been published in full. It is believed that this has encouraged members of the local cannabis industry to express concerns regarding its contents and whether the Memorandum has actually created equal opportunity for businesses wishing to cultivate medicinal cannabis products.  

Since the Memorandum of Understanding was signed, seven Guernsey businesses have made applications for licences to cultivate medicinal cannabis. One of these applications was successful, and its licence was granted in November. 

Deputy St Pier submitted an extensive set of questions to Health and Social Care. Primarily, he asked whether the Memorandum would be published, to which the Committee responded that it “includes a provision that requires consent to be given from both sides before the document can be published”. The Committee has provided this consent; they are waiting for the UK Home Office to do so also before publishing the document. 

Additionally, Deputy St Pier voiced concerns that failure to publish the Memorandum in full has led to a lack of transparency, and asked how the industry is expected to comply with “the standards expected or implicit in the MoU” without seeing the document. The Committee responded that “The document does not and is not intended to provide specific detail on any operational practices required to achieve a cannabis cultivation licence.”

They expanded that the Bailiwick of Guernsey Cannabis Agency (BGCA), established in June 2021, provides “information to prospective applicants relating to the requirements for making an application and the site inspection process.”

Responses from Health & Social Care to questions on cannabis Memorandum of Understanding aren’t very satisfactory. Q3: why do we need export licences when others don’t? A - because we passed a law that said we did. Q4: is Agency accountable to Committee? A
- ? Needs following-up pic.twitter.com/s4gYMPYaSS

— Gavin St Pier ???????? (@gavinstpier) January 5, 2022

Pictured: “My question on the political accountability of the Bailiwick of Guernsey Cannabis Agency has not been clearly answered and will need to be pursued further,” said Deputy St Pier.

Deputy St Pier further questioned why the BGCA requires ‘export licences’, issued by the Committee for Health and Social Care, for companies to export CBD products to jurisdictions where there is no restriction on the import of CBD products. He added that “in any event, the receiving jurisdiction is responsible for regulating compliance with its own laws and any international agreements”. The Committee attributed these export requirements to “The Misuse of Drugs (Modification) Order, 2018”.”

“These answers don’t really take us very far forward” said Deputy St Pier of the responses he had received to his questions. “It’s not at all clear to me why this Memorandum of Understanding should be wrapped in so much confidentiality that it wasn’t published when it was signed. I’m pleased that the Committee are willing now to do so, if their other signatory, the UK’s Home office agrees.

“This nascent industry needs far more transparency around what is expected of it. Investors will want to be really clear what they need to do in order to get a licence – otherwise they will go elsewhere.”

Deputy St Pier added that, “the explanation that an export licence is required because our own law requires it doesn’t answer my original question, which is ‘why have we set that policy down in law?’ when many other jurisdictions don’t seem to have any similar requirement.”