Under the amendments proposed by the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment of Law) (No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 2021- and the accompanying order, the Proceeds of Crime (Cannabis Exemption – List of Jurisdictions) (Jersey) Order 2021- (Cannabis Exemption Order), if the cannabis related activity is lawful where and when it takes place (and it occurs in a listed jurisdiction) then the proceeds are lawful even if the activity would be illegal in Jersey.

Pursuant to the amendment, the definition of “criminal conduct” under Article 1(1) (Interpretation) of POCL reads as follows:

“criminal conduct” means conduct, whether occurring before or after Article 3 comes into force, that –

constitutes an offence specified in Schedule 1; or
if it occurs or has occurred outside Jersey, would have constituted such an offence if occurring in Jersey, but does not include the production, supply, use, export or import of cannabis, or any of its derivatives that –

- is lawful where and when it occurs, and
- occurs in a jurisdiction outside Jersey that the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services may by Order specify;

For these purposes, “cannabis” means any plant of the genus Cannabis and any part of such plant and each of the terms “production”, “supply”, and “supplying”, will take the same meaning as is given to each such expression by Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978.

Under the Cannabis Exemption Order, the List of Jurisdictions include 22 EU member states, Australia, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, the UK and the United States of America.

The amendments remove the test of dual criminality and allows Jersey companies/funds and investors in Jersey companies to invest in cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) operating in the List of Jurisdictions under the Cannabis Exemption Order without fear of prosecution. It also allows banks and other service providers in Jersey to provide services without risk of breaching anti-money laundering legislation.

For a more in-depth review of the cannabis industry and Jersey’s relationship to it, please see our previous publication.