Medical cannabis on Isle of Man: Minister welcomes sector growth

Licences to produce and export medical cannabis were made available in June 2021

Proposals for a medical cannabis facility on the Isle of Man have been welcomed by the enterprise minister.

Developer Peel NRE has said a proposed £100m production complex in Braddan could be "game-changing".

It is the first major scheme to have been put forward since licences were made available in June 2021.

Alex Allinson said any application to grow a medical cannabis industry would benefit the island's residents, as it would provide "inwards investment".

He said he was "very interested" in Peel NRE's scheme and "the proposals that have come forward", adding: "We'll be waiting to see whether they then progress to a planning application."

Peel NRE's proposals are for an area covering 72 acres (29 hectares) of land in Braddan

He said the development of the sector as a whole would provide "some highly-skilled jobs" and from "purely an economic perspective, producing medicinal cannabis for export makes sense".

He added that while the proposals were the most significant to have emerged since the law change, there was plenty of scope for other schemes to come forward and there would be "other sites available for other producers on the island".

He added that he was "fairly confident that we can develop this sector within a very close regulated environment with all the securities we need there" and that it could bring benefits in terms of jobs, prosperity and "diversifying our economy".