The Isle of Man Medicinal Cannabis Sector

In 2021 the Isle of Man Government introduced a flexible and detailed regulatory framework to allow commercial operators to grow, manufacture, distribute and export cannabis products under licence from the Isle of Man.

The Gambling Supervision Commission

The Gambling Supervision Commission (‘GSC’) were appointed as the regulator for the sector and will oversee the licensing and supervision of cannabis cultivation, production, manufacturing, importation and exportation of industrial materials and products for medical use under the Transfer of Functions (Cannabis) Order 2020.

The GSC is an independent statutory board established in 1962. The Inspectorate is made up of a team of Inspectors who manage a portfolio of licence holders. The Inspectorate is managed by the Chief Executive. The Commission comprises of not less than five independent members of the public which have been appointed by the Isle of Man Treasury. Typically the Commission sits once a month to consider regulatory matters and consider licence applications.

The GSC already has a sophisticated framework for supervising gambling and have worked carefully to apply the best of that framework to the risks in the new sector, ensuring that all stakeholders will be competent, crime free and capable of building a sector that is safe, trusted and efficient.

The GSC’s regulation will look to attract quality businesses to the Island transforming the cannabis export sector into a key contributor to the Isle of Man’s post-COVID economic recovery.

The regulated sector will enable operators to export to legal markets around the globe and provide the flexibility to allow for the innovation and novel new uses of the cannabis plant, ranging from industrial uses of hemp to medical uses of the plant and its extracts.

The GSC is a non-political statutory board whose board members are drawn from the public. 

To find out more information on the types of licences that can be applied for, along with the relevant fees, guidance and application forms, click here.

For further information please visit our GSC Frequently Asked Questions page here.

A copy of the GSC Integrity Guidance can be found here . This document details the GSC's expectations and procedures for applications, amendments, and renewals.

Contacts

For regulation enquiries please contact – Canna@gov.im

For new business enquiries please contact the Department for Enterprise - contact-business@gov.im

Licence Fees

On the 20 June 2023 Tynwald approved a fee increase across all Cannabis Licence Fees.

As of the 6 July 2023, the GSC has implemented these changes.

All guidance, forms and documents have been updated and are live on this site.

Please see here for the legislation relating to these increases.

The Licence Fee cap remains at £62,500