A Jersey Minister expects the cultivation of medicinal cannabis to start next year.
Senator Lyndon Farnham attended a medicinal cannabis conference in London earlier this week.
The Minister was joined by environment and economy officers to speak to experts in the field and show Jersey’s intentions to develop a medicinal cannabis industry.
“Our aim is to become a very highly regulated jurisdiction for the production of medicinal cannabis. We’re now in the process of considering license applications which we hope to be complete between the end of the summer and early autumn.
“It’s important that licences are issued this year so the infrastructure can start to be built. I would envisage production, cultivation, extraction, manufacturing to start next year. But of course it’s a new industry globally it’s going to be evolving for years.That’s why it’s so important for Jersey to be one of the first into the market, so we can establish ourselves early.”
SENATOR LYNDON FARNHAM, THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM, SPORT AND CULTURE
The government has been investigating the benefits of the crop as part of a 20 year plan to ensure the continued growth of the economy.
A medicinal cannabis company has already applied for planning permission to grow crops in St Mary.
The plans include an area at Le Pepiniere Farm where the company would grow medicinal cannabis for research purposes.
The plans would replace two old agricultural buildings with a modern one which will be fitted out to grow medicinal cannabis.
The crops will ultimately become human medicine and could lead to some local trials with patients in future
