The island of Jersey grants licence to produce CBD
While many British companies currently sell CBD oil products, their stocks have always come from other parts of Europe where the rules around growing hemp are different. Jersey is part of the British Isles, but not the UK, and has many different rules to England. As Jersey is self-governing and has its own government, separate from the rest of the British Isles, it can follow its own rules. The Jersey government have granted a licence to harvest, process and store hemp flowers for the production of CBD. This will allow them to produce a whopping 30-40 tonnes of dry hemp per year.
Research suggested that the market for CBD products is currently around £300m a year, and could rise to £1bn in 2025, so allowing this change on Jersey could have a massive economic effect for the island.
“The licence represents a significant opportunity for the island’s economy, allowing us to begin cultivating and processing hemp for the extraction of CBD – a growing market, both in the UK and internationally,” says Senator Lyndon Farnham, Jersey’s Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture.
“Extracting Jersey-produced CBD will allow the island to take its place in this fast developing sector, supplying controlled and reliable CBD products with strong British Isles provenance.”
Whether the rest of the British Isles will follow Jersey’s lead is currently unclear, but we live in hope!