Decriminalisation of possession and recreational use of cannabis letter (FOI)

​​​Request

Please provide a copy of the letter from the Misuse of Drugs Advisory Council that was shared with and mentioned by several States Members during the debate on the 25 June 2024 on the decriminalisation of the possession and recreational use of cannabis in Jersey.

Response

The requested letter of 18 June 2024 from the Misuse of Drugs Advisory Council to the Minister for Health and Social Services in relation to the decriminalisation of cannabis proposition is attached.

Correspondence _redacted.pdf​

Redactions have been made to the letter in consideration of Freedom of Information legislation to protect the privacy of individuals, and to reduce the impact on the security of the island. Redactions have been colour coded for ease of reference, as follows:

Yellow     Personal Information of the Council Chair – Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Red         Law Enforcement – Article 42 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 ​

Articles applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

Article 42 - Law enforcement

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a) the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

Public Interest Test

​Article 42 is a qualified exemption and, as such, Health and Community Services (HCS) has conducted a prejudice test as required by law. 

HCS has assessed whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information contained within the letter is outweighed by the prejudice that would likely result by doing so. It is recognised that there is a public interest in transparency, and wherever possible, information is disclosed. However, having considered the public interest, HCS has concluded that the public interest in disclosing certain information is outweighed by the potential prejudice that would likely result, and redactions have been applied to these elements.