The London Cannabis Legalisation Commission launches call for evidence: opening the way for new cannabis production and retail pilots for London in 2021
From their press release: “Great Britain is one of the world’s largest medical cannabis growers and exporters but there is no room for complacency. That is the message from the London Cannabis Commission, launched this spring by concerned experts to map out the opportunity for the city to create a new retail cannabis market that enables craft cannabis production and sale in London, leapfrogging the UK’s outdated legal regime and catching us up with jurisdictions around the world.
Today, the Commission is launching an international call for evidence as part of a wider review of the cannabis legalisation opportunity for London.
The Commission, drawing on the shared expertise of a network of international cannabis business leaders, research, and policy experts, will synthesise global best practice into a guide for the Mayor of London, the Met, and London councils to proceed with legalisation and regulation of a modern cannabis market that benefits all Londoners in 2021. A policy paper, The London Cannabis Study, will be presented to all levels of London government in September followed by a public launch on 30 September. The Commission’s work will assess opportunities across all business segments, from craft cannabis production, food and beverage processing and retail to advanced medical research.
Rapid cannabis policy evolution on all continents is leaving the UK behind in a global market which is expected to reach around US$50 billion (UK £36 billion) by 2025. London has an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the world to decriminalise cannabis possession and use, and to create a new market architecture that supports local entrepreneurs and local government with new revenue streams across all market segments. Currently, access to cannabis business opportunities is restricted to a few politically connected business people and large capital markets players, including the London Stock Exchange. With the goal of opening a legal cannabis industry for London, the London Cannabis Legalisation.”
“The UK is already the world’s largest grower of medical grade cannabis, most of which is exported as medical products. It is time for Londoners to have access to the full range of employment, business and medical research and treatment opportunities associated with legal cannabis. British Sugar, one of the world’s largest cannabis producers, grows their crop mostly in Norfolk, and is able to get an exemption from all existing prohibition laws to do this. London residents and other entrepreneurs have a right to be able to participate fully in a legal cannabis industry this year.”
The Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group played an instrumental role in facilitating the inclusion of cannabis companies in the London Stock Exchange with the Financial Conduct Authority in October 2021.
We encourage all current and potential stakeholders to submit evidence in response to this call for evidence, raising the volume of the demand for evidence-based cannabis policies to fulfil the grave unmet treatment needs in the UK while safeguarding the promising projected growth of this emergent industry.