JBD information request to MoJ 12 January 2026
- Document type
- Issued request
- Issued by
- Justice by Design
- JBD internal filing reference
- FOI_1D
Open or download the complete original
Ministry of Justice design and implementation
Document text
The complete original retains the page layout and any redactions.
PDF page 1
Discrimination By Design FOI_1D 12 January 2026 By Email Dear MoJ FoI Team This request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It forms part of an ongoing, transparent research programme examining the regulatory, criminal- law, equality, and real-world impacts of the framework governing cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). The programme builds on material previously submitted to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) Call for Evidence on CBPMs, which closed on 17 October 2025, and on subsequent analytical updates and correspondence provided to the ACMD as the evidence base has continued to develop. This request relies on Annex A (Publicly Available Documentary Chronology, A1–A15) as the complete publicly available factual record evidencing the commissioning of advice, ministerial responses, parliamentary statements, guidance, and statutory instruments relevant to the Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1055). It also draws on Annex B (Legal Comparators) and Annex C (Comparative Legislative Framework) as contextual analysis. Annex B sets out orthodox comparators for criminal-law signalling, safeguards and proportionality in prescribed-medicine contexts, and Annex C provides cross-framework comparison of exemption-withdrawal versus primary-offence models, proportionality norms, patient-facing criminal signalling, and equality / Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) comparators. This is a new request. It is not a continuation, refinement, or narrowing of any previous request. Where any part of this request may engage section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, please provide a breakdown of search parameters sufficient to enable refinement, and state explicitly where no information is held, in accordance with section 16. Yours sincerely Pete Lindsay Pete.lindsay@justicebydesign.org.uk Justicebydesign.org.uk
PDF page 2
Discrimination By Design FOI_1D FOI 1D — MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Timeframe Unless otherwise specified, please provide recorded information created or held between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020. This timeframe is intended to capture both the design and initial implementation phase of SI 2018/1055, including any contemporaneous consideration or absence of post-implementation review, monitoring, or evaluation. If no recorded information is held in relation to any question, please state this explicitly. MoJ-1 — Awareness of criminal-law mechanism (Annex A: A7, A8, A9; Annex B – orthodox attachment of criminal liability to prescribed medicines; Annex C – exemption-withdrawal vs primary-offence model) Please provide recorded information evidencing the Ministry of Justice’s awareness that Regulation 16A(3) operates by withdrawal of a statutory exemption under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, thereby re-engaging offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 for prescribed CBPM patients. MoJ-2 — Likelihood of investigation or prosecution (Annex A: A7, A8; Annex B – orthodox enforcement expectations and safeguards for prescribed patients; Annex C – proportionality and enforcement norms comparator) Please provide recorded information evidencing any assessment of the likelihood of criminal investigation or prosecution of patients prescribed CBPMs arising from non-compliance with Regulation 16A(3), including any advice provided to other Departments. MoJ-3 — Novel or atypical criminal-justice model (Annex A: A7, A14, A15; Annex B – orthodox criminal-justice models for controlled prescribed medicines; Annex C – novelty vs orthodox control models) Please provide recorded information evidencing any consideration of whether the CBPM regulatory framework constituted a novel or atypical criminal-justice approach, including the attachment of criminal liability to a subset of prescribed patients through exemption withdrawal rather than primary criminal prohibitions.
PDF page 3
Discrimination By Design FOI_1D MoJ-4 — Proportionality and foreseeability (Annex A: A7, A10, A11; Annex B – orthodox proportionality and foreseeability safeguards in criminal regulation; Annex C – proportionality safeguards comparator) Please provide recorded information evidencing any assessment of proportionality and foreseeability in relation to criminal liability arising from Regulation 16A(3), including whether impacts on prescribed CBPM patients were considered proportionate to regulatory objectives. MoJ-5 — Emergency and self-administration contexts (Annex A: A3, A7, A8; Annex B – orthodox treatment of emergency or necessity contexts in prescribed-medicine frameworks; Annex C – emergency self-administration vs criminal exposure comparator) Please provide recorded information evidencing any consideration of emergency or acute contexts in which patients prescribed CBPMs may reasonably self-administer medication to avoid escalation to professional medical intervention, and how criminal liability under Regulation 16A(3) was expected to operate in such contexts. If no such information is held, please state this explicitly. MoJ-6 — Equality Act 2010 considerations (Annex A: A7, A8, A9; Annex B – orthodox consideration of equality impacts where criminal liability affects prescribed patients; Annex C – equality / PSED comparator) Please provide recorded information evidencing any consideration of Equality Act 2010 duties in relation to prescribed CBPM patients, including whether the operation of Regulation 16A(3) was assessed for indirect discrimination risk. MoJ-7 — Post-implementation review (Annex A: A10–A13; Annex B – orthodox post-implementation review expectations in criminal- justice regulation; Annex C – post-implementation safeguards comparator) Please provide recorded information relating to any post-implementation review, monitoring, or evaluation by the Ministry of Justice of criminal-justice impacts arising from SI 2018/1055. MoJ-8 — Section 12 safeguards (Annex A: A1–A15) If any part of this request engages section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, please provide a breakdown of search parameters sufficient to allow refinement and confirm explicitly which elements of information are not held.