Growing cannabis industry while punishing personal use "as hypocritical as Saudi Arabia hosting an international distillery"

Thursday 29 April 2021

Economic Development wants to reap the rewards of a budding medicinal cannabis sector - however a feud has broken out in the States about whether or not this conflicts with Guernsey's criminalisation of personal use.

In a summary update of his Committee's current work, Deputy Neil Inder offered up medicinal cannabis as a way to drive sustainable financial growth and tap into new business opportunities as the Bailiwick's economy recovers from the pandemic.

"The Committee wants to promote and support the emerging medicinal cannabis sector but this needs Committees to work together," he said. "This is a sector in its infancy, and we must ensure that the regulatory and licensing framework protects our reputation but also enables innovation.

"In short, the opportunities in front of us are ours to lose."

Pictured: The House of Green is the island's largest cannabis company and wants to make the island "one of the leading cannabis producers in the world."

Deputy Peter Roffey questioned how these business aspirations square with the way the island's judicial system sentences possession and recreational use of the Class B drug. 

Responding to Deputy Inder's comments, he said: "For Guernsey to do that on a corporate basis, while at the same time maintaining some of the strictest rules anywhere in Europe on the personal use of cannabis, is maybe as hypocritical as Saudi Arabia hosting an international distillery while maintaining its own domestic regime."

The Economic Development President responded with fury at the way his fellow States member had annexed the medicinal cannabis industry with recreational use. 

"I’m getting a little bit bored of standing here in the middle of a Deputy Roffey opinion column"

"That is incredibly unhelpful. Continually connecting recreational use of cannabis with the very serious businesses of medicinal cannabis just really doesn’t help. And I’m getting a little bit bored of standing here sometimes in the middle of a Deputy Roffey opinion column.

"He must really disconnect the two issues of legalising cannabis, and the power and value to the economy of medicinal cannabis."

Guernsey's current laws allow doctors to prescribe cannabis products which are manufactured "to a pharmaceutical standard". However, there has been little take-up from local GPs, as was the case in Jersey when that island first made legislative changes.

Islanders can also obtain prescriptions from the UK for medical purposes and arrange for the importation of products into the Bailiwick, subject to approval from local authorities. 

Pictured: It is a criminal offence to possess, supply and import cannabis and Guernsey's Courts are bound by law to base their decisions around the current sentencing guidelines. Home Affairs could consider reforms as part of its long-awaited Justice Review, however, the political appetite for that is unclear at this stage.