Medicinal cannabis is legal in Jersey, and the island is home to a burgeoning cannabis industry. Now a politician on the island is making plans to have the plant’s status for personal use lowered from illegal, to decriminalised.
Deputy Tom Coles believes that a softer legal approach to the use of cannabis will have a positive impact on the individual and society in general. “There is a lot of evidence that now shows that if people are given space, time, and support, eventually they’ll stop using substances,” he said.
If the law is changed and Jersey follows the example of countries such as Spain and Portugal it could mean residents would be allowed to possess cannabis at home and to transport it from one place to the next. Public use is prohibited in Spain and Portugal, and can lead to punishment such as a fine. Nor is the sale of cannabis permitted, countries that have already decriminalised personal use often hand out harsher criminal punishments for supply.
In Jersey, the laws surrounding cannabis possession have already been softened, offenders are dealt with via the Parish Hall, rather than through the courts. Being dealt with through the courts can lead to a criminal record, affecting many areas of a person’s life such as travel and work. Medical cannabis was legalised in Jersey in 2019 and the Government issued the first licences for the commercial cultivation of medicinal cannabis in early 2021, in a bid to capitalise on the lucrative European export market.
Not all politicians in Jersey support the decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use, Deputy Kevin Lewis expressed concerns about relaxing the laws. “I’m all in favour of anything that a doctor prescribes, but I do fear that decriminalising cannabis could send out the wrong message,” he said.
At the time of writing, there has been no decision on whether or not Tom Cole’s application to debate the decriminalisation of cannabis will be taken further, however in an interview with ITV he said that “We wouldn’t see any real movement on decriminalisation until the later half of next year.”
