Jersey could relax cannabis laws in new law proposals
December 22, 2025
Jersey could relax cannabis laws in new proposals
ReutersCannabis laws in Jersey could change, with the States Assembly set to debate whether personal use should be treated as a health issue rather than a crime.
Tom Binet, Minister for Health and Social Services, has lodged a proposition asking members to choose between three options.
The first would stop prosecutions for people caught with small amounts of cannabis for personal use, instead focusing on harm reduction and public health.
The second would go further, removing criminal offences for possession and home-growing within strict limits, and the third proposes a government-run trial selling non-medical cannabis to registered islanders, to see if legal regulation improves safety.
The debate is scheduled for 3 February.
If any option is approved, detailed proposals would follow, but the attorney general must review plans that involved ending prosecutions, officials said.
Cannabis is the most-used illegal drug in Jersey and across Europe, according to the proposition.
About 4% of adults in Jersey already have prescriptions for medical cannabis, a much higher rate than in England.
The government said any change would also include education on risks such as dependency and mental health problems.
Officials have spoken to the UK about the plans because Jersey must comply with international drug treaties.
The UK has not yet given its view but will advise after the States vote.
If members reject all three options, Jersey’s current approach will stay in place, with minor offences handled at parish hall level.
Binet said the aim was to “shift public policy away from criminalisation for personal use of cannabis, towards a health-based harm reduction approach”.
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