United Kingdom: Market and legal data for the cannabis sector

5th December 2024: UK: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that it will launch an eight-week public consultation in early 2025 which will be considered in the recommendation to the government of three CBD-containing novel food applications that received a positive risk assessment from the agency. The FSA has suggested that the acceptable threshold for THC content in CBD novel food applications will be aligned with Home Office standards, namely that “where THC is present at very low levels and cannot be readily extracted in a quantity that is liable to be abused, it can be defined as an exempt product under drugs law and can be freely traded”. The FSA expects to make recommendations on CBD applications to ministers by spring/summer 2025, following the public consultation.
30th October 2024: UK: The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) – an advisory body that makes recommendations to the government on drug-related issues – has supported the government proposal to raise the maximum THC content of industrial hemp grown outdoors from 0.2% to 0.3%, aligning it with that of the European Union. The ACMD also recommends applying a £580 fee to licences for hemp not containing more than 0.3% THC. This amount is the current applicable fee for hemp varieties not exceeding 0.2% THC.
12th June 2024: UK: The Liberal Democrats party, which held 15 seats in the House of Commons (lower chamber of the parliament) before the dissolution of the parliament, has recently published its electoral manifesto for the elections that will take place on 4th July 2024. In it, the party pledges to introduce a legal, regulated cannabis market in order to protect young people and tackle the illicit market. Sales would be restricted to over-18s only, from licensed retailers and with strict limits on THC content.
2nd May 2024: UK: The Food Safety Agency (FSA) Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, an independent expert committee actively advising the FSA on matters pertaining to novel foods, has concluded that two applications for novel food authorisations, one containing pure natural CBD and another containing synthetic CBD, provided sufficient information to assure that they are safe under the proposed conditions of use, making them the first-ever applications to be granted the safety approvals from the committee.
10th April 2024: UK: An animal tranquilliser, xylazine, has been found in cannabis vapes in the UK, according to a study widely reported in the British press. In reaction, a government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the threat from xylazine and are determined to protect people from the threat posed by this drug and other illicit synthetic drugs.”
14th February 2024: UK: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints against individuals who tweeted about Supreme CBD gummies. Tweets from two people, including the owner of the brand, were found in breach of the Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code) because they failed to disclose commercial relationships (they received sales commissions) and for claiming that a food could prevent, treat or cure human disease.
5th February 2024: UK: The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) – an independent body of scientific experts that advises the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on any matters relating to novel foods and novel processes – will hold its next meeting on 7th February. The agenda states that the committee will review a draft safety assessment outcome for three different product submissions from the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), Pureis, and Cannaray Limited. This indicates that the authorisation process could soon be finished and that the authorised novel food products will be available on the UK market in the near future.
9th January 2024: UK: The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) has called on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Home Office to resolve the issues with the process of approving novel food applications. The ACI says the process has stalled and that a clear legal framework should be established to safeguard the sector’s future.
24th October 2023: UK: Today (24th October), the government announced that it accepts the advice on CBD consumer products from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), in particular, the recommendation to limit the dose of delta-9 THC – including delta-9 THCA and all other controlled phytocannabinoids – to 50 µg per unit of consumption. The government plans to put forward legislation that will have to be approved in Parliament.
13th October 2023: UK: Yesterday (12th October), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued new precautionary advice on edible CBD, which it says should be limited to 10 mg per day (about four to five drops of 5% CBD oil) for healthy adults. The announcement explains that the recommendation is based on new evidence from the industry and updated advice from the independent scientific committee. FSA CEO Emily Miles said: “We understand that this change to our advice will have implications for products currently on the market that contain more than 10 mg of CBD per serving. We will be working closely with industry to minimise the risk, to ensure consumers are not exposed to potentially harmful levels of CBD.”
29th August 2023: UK: The Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) has launched the SaveOurCBD campaign, calling on the Home Office to put in place a legal framework defining THC levels for ingestible CBD products. "The Home Office’s lack of response has left businesses seeking approval from the FSA (Food Standards Agency) in jeopardy due to the absence of a clear legal framework," the ACI states.
20th July 2023: UK: The Court of Appeal in London has rejected an appeal by the prosecution against the 2020 acquittal in Ipswich Crown Court of retailers trading as Uncle Herb on a charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act of supplying drugs (hemp flower) in 2019. The defendants said that under Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Freedom of Movement of Goods principle, one EU member state cannot prohibit trade of goods (in this case hemp flowers imported from Italy) unless the authorities demonstrate a serious risk to public health or morality. The court considered that the EU rules had the force of law at the time of the alleged offence as the UK was then still officially in the EU. The decision does not legalise the sale of hemp flower in the UK, but it does make criminal prosecution of pre-Brexit retailers difficult.

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