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Daily news alerts
Our legal experts track the evolving regulation around the cannabinoid and cannabis sector on a daily basis. These alerts are then compiled into our Round-up section.
23rd March 2023
UK: Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Ronnie Cowan has again raised in Parliament the issue of industrial hemp, saying: “The industry is telling me that it can create 105,000 jobs and pay £1bn in tax if it is allowed to grow.” He suggested members of the industry should be allowed to meet “the relevant minister” in order to make their case.
17th March 2023
- UK: In yesterday's debate, MP Ronnie Cowan suggested the government should encourage local farmers to grow hemp and facilitate cultivation licensing. "A £60 million investment would create a facility that is capable of growing 32,000 acres of hemp per year, which would sequester more than 207,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum," said Cowan.
2nd March 2023
UK: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has given notice through the Interactive Drug Analysis Profile, which provides an overview of spontaneous suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported through the Yellow Card Scheme, that the number of CBD-related notified reactions had risen to 874, including 186 serious and ten fatal. However, as the MHRA website states: “It is important to note that reported adverse reactions have not been proven to be related to the drug, and should not be interpreted as a list of known side effects.” Furthermore, media reports claim the incidents might be related to commercial interests of the makers of Epidyolex.
17th February 2023
- UK: The CBD Flower Shop is in the process of challenging the HMRC VAT assessment of £430,473.36 based on the view that its CBD tea flowers are subject to VAT. The company claims that, being food, the product is subject to 0% VAT. Most recently, the court dismissed the HMRC application to amend its statement of case, stating that the products are in fact illegal. "Zero-rating does not apply to illegal supplies as the power to enact zero-rating could only be exercised for 'clearly defined social reasons' which would not include conferring a tax benefit on illegal acts. It is for the Appellant to demonstrate that its supplies are legal,” the authority explains. This means that the illegality issue will have to be heard separately at some point in the future.
6th February 2023
- UK: Crime minister Chris Philp said that the government is considering the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) advice on consumer CBD products published in 2021. "We are in the process of considering their findings and the Government will respond in due course," said Philp. The ACMD recommended that the dose of delta-9 THC and of each of the other controlled phytocannabinoids should not exceed 50 micrograms "per single unit of consumption".
27th January 2023
- UK: In answer to an MP's question, the minister of state in the Home Office Chris Philp said that no specific assessment has been made of the implications of the CBD report – published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for CBD Products – on the potential effects on employment and taxation.
19th December 2022
- UK: Last week, the minister for crime, policing and fire responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)'s research on the subject of barriers to research of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA). According to the communication, the government is against defining "research organisation" in the proposed manner, which would secure legitimate research. It also holds that any reforms should encompass Schedule 1 drugs in general, rather than SCRAs in isolation. As per the recommendations of the ACMD, "research organisations" should be able to "produce, possess, and supply a 100 mg de minimis" for synthetic cannabinoid compounds and to import/export them within the 100 mg limit. The minister has requested that the second part of the ACMD research focuses on how best to reduce regulatory burdens on all Schedule 1 controlled drugs in all stages of the research process.
28th November 2022
- UK: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued clarifications of the rules regulating the manufacturing of cannabis-based medicinal products. Among others, it specified that at the moment of application, companies should have all necessary systems, equipment, and procedures in place and that all qualification and validation of the facility and equipment should be complete up to the point of at least operational qualification (OQ).
3rd November 2022
- UK: Yesterday (2nd November) Steve Brine was newly elected as chair of the Health and Social Care Committee. Brine was a junior minister at the Department of Health and Social Care from 2017 to 2019 when cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) were legalised.
27th October 2022
UK: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued a ruling yesterday ordering the removal of advertorials promoting Blessed CBD in the media. The ASA upheld several claims about product health claims and paid editorials. It said companies must ensure that ads don’t make medicinal claims for unlicensed products and that any general health claims are accompanied by a specific authorised health claim – no health claims have been authorised for CBD products. In addition, companies must ensure that marketing communications are clearly identifiable to avoid misleading consumers.
13th October 2022
UK: The government has no plans to change the scheduling of cannabis, following reports that home secretary Suella Braverman was considering making it a Class A drug, the BBC reports. The prime minister’s official spokesman said there were no plans to change the laws around cannabis and that the priority was on “cracking down on illegal drugs and the crime they drive”.
