In February this year following a series of meetings with Ministers, advisers and senior officials in Whitehall the Centre of Medicinal Cannabis and the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry commissioned Oxford University’s Professor Christopher Hodges to oversee a comprehensive review of the UK legal cannabinoid industry with a particular regard to how public policy and regulation can support the sector’s growth and development.
The invitation to contribute to the report was extended to our members, the wider industry and the many stakeholder groups who engage with the sector. We are grateful to all organisations and individuals who engaged so constructively throughout the process of this review.
Today we publish the final report of this groundbreaking review.
From Containment to Nurturing: How the UK can become a world leader in cannabinoid innovation formally launched in London at an event addressed by both George Freeman MP, Minister for Science, Research & Innovation, the first UK Government Minister to address a legal cannabinoid industry gathering, and Professor Hodges.
The report contains 20 key recommendations which we believe, upon implementation, will set the UK on a path to become the global leader in cannabinoid innovation.
The report’s contents, findings and recommendations are based on original research and results of new opinion surveys conducted by Stack Data Strategy in June 2022. The report covers three linked but separate areas of the legal cannabinoid sector: cultivation (hemp); medicinal cannabis, and consumer cannabinoids (CBD).
The intent behind the report is to establish a settled public policy and regulatory environment that provides optimal support for the UK cannabinoid industry to grow and flourish. The hope is that this report will act as a spur to help maximise growth, profits, consumer and patient satisfaction and the industry’s latent potential. In this way, the UK can create a competitive advantage by stewarding this nascent sector, positioning us at the forefront of global cannabinoid innovation.
Key Objectives
- To build a strategic engagement with government and associated agencies – move from containment to nurturing
- To establish a footprint / landing zone for the sector within government i.e. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
- To establish a new coherent regulatory framework for CBMPs and consumer cannabinoids in the UK
- To optimise the potential public funding opportunities for the sector
- To align ourselves with current government thinking with regard to future regulation
To download the full report and supporting data visit hodgesreview.com.
