The number of people being arrested for drug offences in Jersey has reduced by 32% as residents can now be lawfully prescribed medical cannabis, a police report has said.
Drug arrests in Jersey dropped from 170 in 2022 to 115 in 2025, according to the States of Jersey Police’s first Crime and Policing Statistics report, which analysed data from January 2022 to June 2026.
The report identified a “key driver” of the reduction as “a reduction of an illicit cannabis market in Jersey” due to “an increased provision of medicinal cannabis” amongst the population.
However, senior police officers have said the legal status of medicinal cannabis is creating new challenges for frontline enforcement.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hafey told the BBC it was difficult for officers to determine whether someone was using cannabis lawfully. “Occasionally we get reports from people saying there’s a strong smell of cannabis and we go and, actually, it’s someone who says that they’ve been prescribed that cannabis, and that can cause us a real challenge,” he said.
“Quite often someone will say that they have a prescription but they might not have it on them.”
Hafey said the force supported people using prescribed medicinal cannabis lawfully but added there would “always be people that want to abuse the system”.
He said police were now focusing on the diversion of prescribed cannabis into the illegal market and would need to work more closely with prescribers, regulators and government to ensure “checks and balances are in place to prevent those people from then abusing the system”.
Data from the Government of Jersey suggests there were around 4,000 active patients on the island during the most recent audit, conducted in 2024. Medical cannabis was legalised in Jersey on January 1, 2019, allowing authorised doctors to prescribe cannabis-based products through private clinics.
Deputy Tom Coles, who previously proposed to decriminalise cannabis in 2024, said the fall in cannabis-related offences was positive because fewer people were being criminalised, but called for stronger safeguards around prescribing.
“I think there is still work around making sure that people aren’t going from one clinic to another clinic to get a large supply, which then they sell,” he said.
Coles added that Jersey should rethink its wider approach to cannabis. “My real concern comes with that we’ve got people prescribing medicinal strength levels of cannabis using it recreationally and we don’t know what the long-term impact of that’s going to be,” he said.
Politicians from both Jersey and neighbouring island Guernsey have independently advanced proposals to reform cannabis laws in recent years. In January 2026, Deputy Leadbeater of Guernsey initiated an investigation into full legalisation through a new cross-committee working group. In February 2026, Deputy Tom Binet, Jersey’s health minister, submitted proposals that would treat cannabis use as a public health issue rather than a criminal matter. A vote on the proposal was delayed due to elections, but is expected to return to the States Assembly for consideration in due course.
