Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on the licensing process of growing hemp.

No Ministerial discussions have taken place to date. However, there is a strong working relationship between Defra and Home Office at official level, and topics such as the licensing regime for industrial hemp are discussed.

Cultivation of the cannabis plant, including the use of the whole plant, already takes place under licence in the UK. The Home Office’s Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit operates two licensing regimes to enable lawful cannabis cultivation, depending on the purpose for which the cannabis is cultivated, and the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the plants. Growers wishing to cultivate industrial hemp outdoors to use the fibre and seed can do so under the “industrial hemp” regime.