Professor Christopher Hodges OBE, who recently completed a strategic review of the UK’s legal cannabinoid industry for the Center of Medicinal Cannabis and the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry, has been appointed Chair of the Regulatory Horizons Council by the Business Secretary.
The Oxford professor will now take up the role for a term of three years.
The Regulatory Horizons Council is an independent expert committee established to ensure that UK regulation keeps pace with innovation and enables it to thrive while safeguarding the public.
Steve Moore co-founder of both the CMC and ACI welcomed the news:
“We warmly welcome an appointment that heralds an exciting future for businesses, patients, consumers and the many stakeholders engaged with the legal cannabinoid industry. Chris brings a unique set of skills and capabilities to this role.
“His pioneering approach to regulation combined with his knowledge and insights into the challenges faced by the nascent UK legal cannabis industry can only be a boon for the sector going forward.”
Christopher Hodges is Emeritus Professor of Justice Systems at the University of Oxford and a Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. He has extensive experience of regulatory systems, initially as a City of London lawyer and for the past 20 years as a leading academic researching many different sectors and advising numerous governments, regulators and businesses on regulatory issues. He is also the co-founder of the International Network for Delivery of Regulation.
In February 2022, 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 Professor 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 findings and recommendations made in the final report can be found here.
