Medical cannabis cultivation in Jersey

​​​​Request 796493721

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. 

I understand that representatives of the UK Home Office have visited Jersey and/or held meetings with Jersey officials in relation to medical cannabis cultivation, including matters connected to medical use, patient access, quality standards, or health-related oversight. 

For the last 12 months from the date this request is received, please provide the following information held by Health & Community Services: 

A list of all meetings, visits, or briefings involving Health & Community Services officials and representatives of the UK Home Office that related to medical cannabis cultivation in Jersey. For each meeting or visit, please provide: 

date 

location (including whether in Jersey, the UK, or virtual) 

the Health & Community Services team(s) involved 

the purpose or subject of the meeting/visit 

For each meeting or visit identified in (1), please provide: 

copies of any agendas 

copies of any minutes or notes of meeting 

copies of any briefing papers or preparatory material prepared for Health & Community Services officials 

copies of any attendance lists, and/or the names and job titles (or grades) of attendees, including UK Home Office representatives 

Copies of any correspondence held by Health & Community Services (including emails or letters) that arranged, discussed, or summarised these meetings or visits, including any follow-up actions, for the last 12 months, limited to correspondence referencing the UK Home Office and medical cannabis cultivation/cannabis farms/cultivators in Jersey. 

If any part of this request would exceed the cost or time limits under the Law, please provide the information in part (1) first and advise how the remaining elements could be refined to remain within scope. 

I would prefer to receive the information electronically.

If any information is withheld, please specify the relevant exemption(s) under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 and provide any required explanation, and please release any reasonably separable non-exempt information.

Response

Details of meetings involving representatives of the U.K. Home Office and Health and Care Jersey staff which took place in the 12-month period preceding this request are provided in the attached table:

[Meeting information]​

Records held have been reviewed for documents and correspondence identified as meeting the request criteria. Information in scope of this request has been prepared for disclosure and redacted in consideration of Freedom of Information legislation; redactions have been colour coded for ease of reference.

Yellow Personal Information of individuals – Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Green Commercial Interests – Article 33 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Orange International relations – Article 41 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Red Law Enforcement – Article 42 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Information that is outside of the scope of this request has been redacted in grey.

Correspondence, attachments or documents that are wholly exempt have been withheld.

Article 42 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied in respect of Ministerial Decision Reports. These documents are redacted in totality.

The U.K. Home Office reports are provided in confidence, and therefore, Article 26 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. The U.K. Home Office reports are redacted in totality.

[LINK Redacted pack]​

Articles Applied 

Article 25 Personal information 

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and 

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law. 

Article 26 Information supplied in confidence 

Information is absolutely exempt information if – 

(a) it was obtained by the scheduled public authority from another person (including another public authority); and 

(b) the disclosure of the information to the public by the scheduled public authority holding it would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person. 

Article 33 Commercial interests 

Information is qualified exempt information if – 

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or 

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information). 

Article 41 International relations 

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between Jersey and – 

(a) the United Kingdom; 

(b) a State other than Jersey; 

(c) an international organization; or 

(d) an international court. 

(2) Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice – 

(a) any Jersey interests abroad; or 

(b) the promotion or protection by Jersey of any such interest. 

Article 42 Law enforcement 

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice – 

(a) the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere

Prejudice / Public Interest Test

Articles 33(b), 41 and 42 are prejudiced-based qualified exemptions and, as such, Health and Care Jersey (HCJ) has conducted a prejudice and public interest test, as required by law.

HCJ has assessed whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information is outweighed by the prejudice that would likely result by doing so.

• ​Disclosing commercially sensitive information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of third parties and could compromise the protection of sensitive regulatory information.
• Cannabis cultivation and export falls within Jersey’s international controlled drugs framework, with compliance oversight linked to the U.K. parent regulator (the U.K. Home Office), and reporting obligations under the international conventions.
• Disclosure of certain information surrounding the local cannabis industry could reasonably be expected to present a diversion or security risk.

It is recognised that there is a public interest in transparency. However, having considered the public interest, HCJ has concluded that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the potential prejudice that would likely result.