People 1
Business Cultivation Hemp Industry

First for U.K. as Commercial CBD Harvesting Licence is Approved, But…

jersey hemp
Written by Peter McCusker

A U.K company is the first to be given permission to extract CBD for commercial use from plants grown on its own land.

But, this will not open the floodgates to a domestic CBD market as the business is based on the Channel Island of Jersey where its authorities can act independently from those on the mainland. Jersey Hemp says it is delighted to secure the growing licence which allows it to harvest cannabis flowers for CBD oil.

“This licence will allow us to supply products made using CBD with clear British Isles provenance to retailers and direct to the public,” said David Ryan, Jersey Hemp’s chief executive. 

Three Firefighters Launch Cannabis Business

Mr Ryan and his business partners Blair Jones and Kevin Mars discovered hemp in 2013, whilst researching fire-proof materials, as firefighters. After leaving the fire service, they established a hemp-growing business at Warwick Farm, harvesting their first crop in September, last year.

The business currently cultivates the cannabis sativa strain for the stems and seeds; these are cold-pressed into hemp seed oil, whilst importing CBD for its range of nutritional supplements. Mr Ryan told the Guardian newspaper that securing a licence to produce home-grown CBD  ‘massively reduces its costs’ adding: “It was a no-brainer to get the licence, given that we were using CBD oil up until now, but from foreign hemp farms.”


Jersey Positions Itself As Cannabis Hub

In a statement on its website Jersey Hemp said the licence will allow it to cultivate a variety of approved Sativa seeds, with THC contents of less than 0.3%. It allows it to produce up to 40 tonnes with a CBD concentration of between 3 to 5%.

It continued: “We anticipate this will allow Jersey Hemp to be able to compete commercially on a level playing field with international producers in China, Eastern Europe and the Americas, where all CBD sold in the UK is presently grown and manufactured.”

In March of this year the Jersey Government gave approval for medical cannabis cultivation.

The Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Senator Lyndon Farnham, said Jersey had ‘ real potential’ in the CBD market adding: “The issuing of this licence signals our clear intent to position ourselves as a centre of excellence in CBD production, research, genetics and intellectual property.”

As previously reported on CBD Testers strict rules govern the harvesting of cannabis flowers and leaves for CBD production in the U.K. One company recently lost its hemp growing licence following a breach.

Have anything to add? Your voice matters! Join the conversation and contribute your insights and ideas below.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About the author

Peter McCusker

Peter McCusker is an experienced news and business editor, who believes it’s time to fully embrace the multiple, proven, medical benefits of the cannabis plant.