The fate of the UK’s CBD industry hangs in the balance ahead of a critical vote on 02 December 2020.
At the 63rd United Nations (UN) Session on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, leaders from around the UN’s member states will vote on removing cannabidiol (CBD) preparations with less than 0.2 percent THC from international control. In this new briefing paper, the CDPRG recommends that the UK vote in accordance with this recommendation, safeguarding the growth of our burgeoning CBD industry, and stimulating the UK’s biosciences sector.
To vote in line with this recommendation does not mean following the herd of European Union member states in terms of the regulation and trade of CBD products overall within the United Kingdom. Indeed, our classification of CBD-containing products as novel foods to be regulated by the Food Standards Agency as introduced in 2019 with licensing applications due on 31 March 2021 sees us already carving our own path in this regard.
Read the briefing paper
“As Chairman of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, I am writing today with a comprehensive set of recommendations prepared by the CDPRG research team, to secure the future of the UK’s cannabidiol (CBD) industry. Though nascent, this industry is already valued at £300 million and it is predicted to grow to around £1 billion by 2025, equivalent to the entirety of the UK’s herbal supplement market in 2016. I am sure you will agree with me that this projected market growth, and the jobs, investment and R&D it attracts, needs safeguarding and stimulating rather than inhibiting.”
Read CDPRG Chairman Crispin Blunt’s letter to the Prime Minister accompanying the paper, sent on 20 November 2020 ahead of the UN vote.
To subject UK CBD-producers and retailers to more stringent restrictions than in force in neighbouring countries in regard to CBD content and derivatives in domestically retailed products will set a nascent industry at an insurmountable disadvantage against nearby competitor industries. At present the UK has the potential to be a market leader and exporter in this sector, with the industry enjoying a projected value of £1 billion by 2025, provided its growth is safeguarded by appropriately careful decision making (rather than recklessly jettisoned by the adoption of overly stringent and unenforceable curbs).
By voting in line with the WHO recommendations, and taking heed, the current barriers to growth of the CBD sector in the UK would be dramatically reduced.
The Briefing Paper covers:
Establishing a practical definition of zero percent THC, which is scientifically measurable;
Why the correct course of action for the UK is to support the UN vote;
Background; (What is cannabidiol (CBD); Prior regulation of CBD-containing products in the UK; Current regulatory standpoint of CBD-containing products in the UK: Clarity needed around chemical composition.)
Reviews by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that have led to the 02 December 2020 proposition to be voted on.
This paper contains essential knowledge for everyone with a stakeholder position in the UK CBD industry, covering everything you need to know about cannabidiol (CBD)-containing products, the measurement of THC content they may have, and the relationship of this to national and international law. It was sent to the Prime Minister ahead of the UN vote, in line with our commitment to providing evidence-based and academically rigorous research to facilitate the best possible decision-making by those in Government at the heart of the UK’s drugs policy.
The CDPRG collaborates with stakeholders from across the UK’s medicinal cannabis landscape and wellness sector to facilitate operations which benefit public health. The paper’s authors, the CDPRG’s Senior Researcher Amber Moore and Psilocybin Rescheduling Project Lead Timmy Davis, are both currently producing the next installment of The UK Review of Medicinal Cannabis: “Part B, The Road Ahead.” More imminently, the CDPRG’s Director of Research David King has co-authored a paper soon to be published with the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis, recommending more feasible alternatives to current requirements for products to contain the scientifically immeasurable amount of ‘zero’ THC, regardless of the outcome of the UN vote in December.
For organisations across the UK’s CBD industry, as well as those off-shore looking to trade in the UK, especially those currently preparing to submit Novel Foods applications to the Food Standards Agency ahead of the March 2021 deadline, being up to date requirements around THC-content in CBD products is a must. This new briefing paper provides a thorough grounding in the issues at stake. For specific enquiries around its findings, we warmly invite you to meet our research team.