Obtaining a licence to import CBPM to Guernsey from UK
For frequently asked questions about this process, please visit: gov.gg/cannabisfaqs
These are controlled substances, obtained by private prescription.
Communications with your clinic are your responsibility.
We comply with the legal process for issuing import licences.
Please be aware that a £27 licensing fee has now been authorised by the HSC Committee which will apply to each licence for individual importation/shipment of CBPM. This will be a requirement by early 2022 and will cover the costs of issuing licences.
To be able to process your licence the licensing team require the following information:
- A copy and transcript of the prescription, sent directly from your UK clinic/prescriber to cannabislicence@gov.gg . The prescription must contain a full and accurate Guernsey postal address since it is used for labelling your shipment. The destination must be your place of residence. If your prescription is inaccurate, please ask your UK provider to re-issue it and send to us.
- An online application, for an import licence to match each prescription, is available at www.gov.gg/mhc. Please complete your application in full and accurately and submit it online by pressing the SEND button on the website form. You will receive an auto receipt if the form is received successfully. Do not leave an incomplete application page open for long since it times out.
If you do not receive an auto receipt, please clear your browser, and try again to submit. If this is unsuccessful, please email the team at Cannabis Licence cannabislicence@gov.gg - Upon receipt of your import licence you then forward the licence to your pharmacy who require this to send you the shipment.
For further information please see the FAQs and the Process for the importation of CBPM.
Cannabis based products medicinal [CBPM] use is still in its infancy in the UK, which impacts both on its availability and associated evidence base. HSC will continue to be informed by best practice, including clinical guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) regarding its local use and funding.
The law in place in Guernsey allows local doctors to prescribe products privately which are manufactured to a pharmaceutical standard. It is also possible for islanders to obtain prescriptions from the UK or Jersey and arrange for the importation of products into the Bailiwick.
The Medicinal Cannabis Importation Licence Application form can be accessed on the right-hand side of this page or at: gov.gg/cannabislicenceform
Availability of medicinal cannabis locally
- Clear processes are in place locally to ensure equitable, evidence-based decisions are made regarding the availability of drugs for islanders. This ensures that limited funds are used to best effect. These processes are kept under review. Further information is on the following page https://gov.gg/whitelist.
- At present three cannabis-based products medicinal are available to islanders. Epidyolex for specialist initiation for two rare types of treatment-resistant epilepsy is included on the Prescribing List. It is possible for Consultant Neurologists to make an application for funding for Sativex for certain symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Another cannabis-based product medicinal, Nabilone, is on the Prescribing List for intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy.
- This is in line with the clinical guidance produced by NICE. Applications for funding in the future will be considered via the same process.
- Based on current evidence, HSC will not consider funding cannabis-based products medicinal for people with chronic pain, as this is not supported by NICE. It is acknowledged that individual patients may report benefits from the use of some products for pain and other conditions. However, NICE has reported that the potential benefits offered are small compared with the high and ongoing costs, and that the products were not an effective use of NHS resources.
Arranging private prescriptions
- Bailiwick residents are now able to privately access prescribed cannabis-based products medicinal locally via an on-island clinic and a local pharmacy. Or from the UK and Jersey and arrange for the lawful importation of these products.
- Individuals looking to do so should identify specialist medical practitioners with the appropriate expertise and experience who will work with them to assess whether a prescription is appropriate in the circumstances. Due to the limited evidence base and their unlicensed nature, even in the UK only a small proportion of doctors listed on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council prescribe cannabis products, and islanders may wish to consider using specific clinics. Islanders will be individually responsible for all costs incurred.
- Any individual obtaining a prescription for cannabis-based products medicinal are strongly advised to inform their GP and any other clinicians involved in their care locally. This will ensure that any decision regarding their wider care considers that a private prescription of medicinal cannabis has been issued.
- Prescribed cannabis-based products medicinal can be lawfully imported into the Bailiwick by following the process attached to this page. Seeking to import a product without the necessary licences being in place is a criminal offence. Further advice on importation may be sought from the document in the downloads section of this page.
