Jersey Hemp has won a major legal battle with the UK Home Office, which found it illegally prohibited CBD companies from importing products into the UK.
The High Court has ruled in Jersey Hemp's favor, overturning an infamous judgment that effectively threatened the legality of the UK's entire CBD industry.
While the decision was a “very important victory” for the company and the CBD industry as a whole, it had a “devastating” and potentially fatal impact on Jersey Hemp and its employees.
This is the latest and latest demonstration that the lack of clear regulation in the UK is not only holding back the industry from moving forward, but actively dismantling British companies that have done everything in their power to operate legally. This is probably the most accurate example.
jersey hemp
Jersey Hemp was founded in Jersey in 2018 with the ambition to become the UK's first and only licensed company to produce CBD from seed to bottle.
Craig Dempster, the company's commercial director, told Business of Cannabis that Jersey Hemp will be working with the Jersey government over the next few years to secure full approval to grow hemp and manufacture CBD products. “It has been a fairly lengthy process with the Jersey government.” .
“The concept behind it was that it would be a fully traceable, organic, home-grown product, with every ingredient in the CBD traceable back to the field where it was grown.”
He added that the company adhered to near-pharmaceutical production levels to meet the UK's “very high standards” and spent millions of dollars on specialist equipment as the business grew over the next four-and-a-half years.
The UK has “always been a target market” for Jersey Hemp, and the company soon began importing and selling CBD oil on the market, “working very hard to keep the THC content below 1mg.”
As far as Jersey Hemp is concerned, its CBD products are registered on the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) Novel Foods Register and meet all the requirements for exemption, so they could be legally imported and sold in the UK.
However, this was challenged in 2023 by the Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit (DFLU).
Criteria for exempted products
Jersey Hemp's case centers on regulations related to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations of 2001, the so-called exempt product standard.
Although CBD itself is not a controlled substance, it is nearly impossible to avoid trace amounts of THC in full-spectrum CBD products. However, under these regulations, products containing THC are considered “exempt” if they meet three criteria:
The content of THC per product ingredient must be less than 1 milligram, and THC must not be easily extracted from the product “in a yield that poses a health risk” and must not be used “in a manner similar to the administration of a controlled substance to a person or persons.” Must not be designed for 'animals'.
This last point was challenged in 2023 by DFLU, which argued that the formulation was designed to administer a controlled substance.
As Dempster points out, all CBD products in the UK contain trace amounts of THC, which would make the entire industry illegal, given that the majority of it is imported from overseas. Probably.
The company immediately lodged an appeal after the Jersey government decided to act on a recommendation from the DFLU and revoke its license.
“After months of legal action in the UK courts, the Home Office has finally admitted that it has acted illegally regarding Jersey hemp.” https://t.co/B7VQC7XteD
— Eliminate anti-marijuana jerseys (@ecpj_campaign) March 13, 2024
Josh Normanton, an attorney at Trinity Chambers who advised Jersey Hemp's legal team, Field Fisher, on the matter explained: I've certainly dealt with it a lot. That's certainly true.
“What needs to be considered is that CBD products are designed to administer CBD to humans and animals, and not THC, which may leave traces in the product due to the manufacturing process. This means that at least one of the exempt product criteria is met.
“We appealed to the High Court, arguing that the Home Office got it completely wrong in interpreting the Exempt Product Standard in relation to Jersey Hemp CBD products. It was an unlawful decision. Their interpretation of the Exempt Product Standard was limited. They fell into error too much and also misunderstood their own policies.”
The Home Office admitted its mistake in February, and the company is now seeking damages in civil court.
What this means for the industry
While this is a positive “step forward” for the industry and “potentially a very costly error for the Home Office,” the question of whether the exempt product standard applies to CBD remains unresolved. explained Normanton. .
The Home Office's concession means there was no written precedential court decision.
“While this is a very important victory, some written judgment would have been better for the industry.
“Then you can say that this is the law. At the moment, the reality is that the position has not changed much. If anyone wants to know what the law is, they need to look back at the criteria for exempt products. Unfortunately, this cannot be defined.
Mr Dempster added: But obviously that's not great for us. ”
The company, which lost “95% of its revenue overnight,” was forced to lay off employees and sell equipment to pay creditors.
“It was pretty, pretty bad. You're seeing stores being demolished and equipment that you paid a lot of money for being sold off as buttons because people smelled blood.”
The company continues to seek damages from the government, but Dempster doubts the company will be able to “recoup what it invested in this business.”
The court ruling also gave Jersey Hemp the power to begin reselling its products into the UK market, but Mr Dempster said: It is unlikely that it will be rebuilt.” Important'.
