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It's been two years since the Economic Development Minister shared his vision to make the island a “centre of excellence” for medicinal cannabis, with the first growing licences being issued nine months ago – but many questions about the blossoming industry still remain.
What are the planning rules for setting up a medicinal cannabis farm? Could Jersey become an “easy target” for criminals? How will this impact traditional agriculture? Will this bring about the end of the black market? And, crucially, how much money will this make for the public purse?
Express answers some of these questions, as it sets out what we know so far…
Pictured: Due to its high street value in the island, cannabis will always be a "target".
Due to its high street value in the island, security around premises growing cannabis is naturally going to be a high priority.
Contributing his security expertise to a Scrutiny review on medicinal cannabis, G4S Security Services Manager Joe Cairney explained that local medicinal cannabis farms are likely to be targeted.
“Despite Jersey enjoying a generally low crime rate, cannabis is a product with a high street value which will always make it a potential target locally, especially as the ‘street value’ in Jersey is significantly higher than elsewhere," he explained.
"When assessing the risk for any particular growing site, consideration should be given to the fact that as an island close to mainland Europe where medical cannabis laws are stricter, there is a risk that growing sites may be seen as an ‘easy target’."
Any medicinal cannabis plantation would therefore need a person qualified to the relevant British standards to carry out full site security survey. The measures required, Mr Cairney said, would depend on the location, the scale of the business, the size of the premises and the amount of product they hold.
Among the security arrangements, prospective licenced growers should consider, Mr Cairney listed the obvious secure locks, intruder detection systems, a monitored alarm system as well as a perimeter fence and locked gates.
Other recommendations include storing bulk stock on racks above ground level, an electronic access system with a “clear audit trail” as well as a search regime.
Pictured: Keeping track of the plants from seeds to sale could help identify any missing ones.
He also recommended that, when transported, the goods should be treated as "valuables in transit" - goods that, under UK law, have special security provisions.
Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull said a 24-hour presence on the site by security staff, a 24-hour live monitoring via CCTV or effective alarm system would enable a “timely response” from the police in case of a crime.
Mr Cairney also recommended a prefabricated strong room for product stocks that are too large to be kept in a safe.
Green Island Growers Ltd, who recently submitted a licence application for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis in St. Lawrence, have also thought about “track and trace” systems to follow the plants from seed to sale and identify any missing ones, to ensure that nothing can filter out to the black market, as well as enhanced DBS checks for the key employees operating the business.
They say they have also developed a set of “stringent measures” to prevent employees from stealing any of the products, this would include banning mobile phones within the cultivation site and requiring employees to wear PPE-type clothing with no pockets.
With more plantations being established in the island, Mr Cairney said G4S is expecting an increase in “manned guarding requirements”, to search staff, for example, as well as a higher demand in security systems installations and on-going maintenance.
Pictured: One grower is expecting to make up to £5m in 12 months of operation.
Many of the recently-launched medicinal cannabis businesses have big growth ambitions, reflected in the investments they have been making.
One of the first to get a licence to operate was for Tamba-based Northern Leaf, which according to a profile in the Financial Times had spent £12.5m on setting up and expected to invest an additional £6m in 2021, while doubling the number of workers. In February, it said it was aiming to raise £5m in funding ahead of a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
To ensure the public reaps the benefits of a market expected to generate $3.9bn per year in Europe by 2025, Economic Development Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham has previously stated that he would like to see the industry's profits taxed at 20%.
Green Island Growers Ltd, which is owned by six Jersey residents who have a background in horticulture, finance, engineering and marketing, says it expects to make between £2.25m and £5m once it gets in full production, in just 12 months of operation.
Those figures are based on the use of 30,000sqft glasshouse, a newly built 10,000 sq ft indoor building and an existing 2,000 sq ft indoor building, all based in St. Lawrence.
According to Director Neel Sahai, the company is expecting to hire about 15 people locally in “higher skilled and higher paid jobs” at a cost of £900,000.
They have also planned for a tax expense between £450,000 and £1m, based on the assumption that the company’s profits would be taxed at 20%.
If the business proves successful, Mr Sahai says Green Island Growers could expand into other larger sites “ in due course."
However, Mr Sahai said that growers will not be the only ones reaping the benefits of medicinal cannabis. He said building firms and engineers will be needed to build or transform sites, and maintain them respectively.
The sites will also require appropriate security measures as well as the support of testing labs, genetics businesses, compliance and regulatory businesses.
Finally, growing sites will work closely with medicinal cannabis clinics, a number of which are already established in the island.
“There is tremendous scope for this industry to create employment and tax revenue if nurtured properly to the benefit of the island,” Mr Sahai said. “Jersey finds itself in a strong position right now, but this early lead could easily be lost if we don’t keep the momentum as it is very competitive globally. The industry really needs a supportive government with the right regulations in place or it simply won’t take off.”
Pictured: Could cannabis disrupt traditional agriculture or give it a boost?
Policy officials have long looked to hemp and medicinal cannabis as a way of diversifying Jersey’s rural economy. Earlier this year, Senator Farnham explained that the issuing of the licences were the first definitive steps towards this.
“These licences represent the birth of a new economic sector in Jersey,” he said. “It will have an important economic impact, driving high-value economic diversification, creating jobs, encouraging inward investment and generating tax new revenues to support economic recovery.”
David Blake of Three Oaks Vineries Ltd is a firm believer in medicinal cannabis being an opportunity for agriculture to diversify.
Mr Blake, a long-standing member of Jersey’s protected crop farming community and member of the Jersey Farmers Union, is currently waiting for his application for the cultivation of medicinal cannabis with Green Island Growers Ltd to be approved.
He believes pursuing this “new sector of horticulture” could be an “extension” to a long-standing family business and allow it to reinvest in its infrastructure, which is not possible right now.
“The cultivation processes for cannabis are similar in both climatic conditions and grow systems of that of which we already grow, thus making diversification relatively simple from a cultivation perspective,” he said.
Mr Blake believes the cultivation of medicinal cannabis could help “revive the export market for the rural economy, help educate and employ local people, as well as bringing investment to many of our disused glasshouse and agricultural sites that may otherwise be lost from agriculture to the housing sector”.
Pictured: Preventing the cultivation of hemp near cannabis facilities could help prevent cross pollination.
There is currently no planning guidance available to medicinal cannabis growers, which has given rise to some concerns among islanders, especially those living around growing sites.
Last month, Environment Minister Deputy John Young said he had received “a lot of emails” from some members of the public who also contacted the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment Department, expressing their concerns and raising questions regarding planning policies for cannabis-related developments.
Islanders questioned whether a change of use had taken place, whether the use was agricultural or instead industrial when it comes to cannabis, as well as raising issues on physical development in the countryside, including fences and concrete bases and the use of glasshouses.
The Minister said complaints had been made and “a lot of anxieties” raised around five sites in particular. He said that although none of them had breached the law so far, a stop notice can be issued if that occurs.
Pictured: Several islanders have shared concerns with the Environment Minister regarding cannabis growing sites.
He however said this decision was not in his power, but instead would be up to the Chief Officer of the Planning Department, a role which is currently unfilled. Deputy Young said he was very “unhappy” about the situation adding he wanted to “find a solution for the right safeguards” as he believes there are currently not enough in place.
One site that generated concern recently was at the Clos de Sargent Nursery in St. Martin. Its plans to build an electricity sub-station at the site to power a medicinal cannabis farm were recommended for approval by Planning, but rejected by the Planning Committee following a number of representations from the public and St. Martin Constable Karen Shenton-Stone.
In his letter to Scrutiny, Mr Blake mentioned a few of the things that he felt should be considered as guidance is drawn up to help protect local crops.
He recommended the Government introduces policy to prevent potential cross-pollination from field grown hemp crops, which could ruin the cannabis crops. Government can help to overcome this however,
Preventing hemp from being grown in exclusion zones around cannabis facilities could help overcome the issue, Mr Blake said.
In addition, he said hemp cultivators should only grow from feminised seeds, which would prevent male plants growing in open fields and thus pollination, and create greater opportunities for outdoor cultivation of hemp varieties for extraction purposes.
Pictured: Cultivating medicinal cannabis could help lower prices and reduce demand on the black market.
Green Island Growers believes local production of medicinal cannabis will help lower the prices for local patients and in turn, reduce the demand on the black market.
“We would hope this leads to less criminal activity as a result as it makes this product less attractive to criminals,” Mr Sahai said.
In addition, the group believes the “highly regulated” medicinal cannabis should hope change people’s perception of cannabis and its association with “illegal hard drugs and criminals” as it will not feed a “criminal network” but help medical patients to “move away from more damaging and addictive opioid based medication”.
“Over time the perception should change and this will become more ‘acceptable’,” Mr Sahai said.
“This is happening very quickly globally as there is a general trend towards legalisation of medical cannabis and regulation. We don’t believe a high quality, well regulated medical cannabis industry will negatively impact Jersey’s international reputation.”
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