The Treasury Minister has confirmed that the Isle of Man Government is unable to provide figures for income generated from the medicinal cannabis sector since it became available on the Isle of Man.

Answering a question in the House of Keys, Chris Thomas said Treasury could not identify any VAT receipts linked specifically to medicinal cannabis, noting that such supplies are zero-rated.

He added that neither Customs nor the Income Tax Division holds data that would allow it to isolate revenue generated by businesses operating in the sector.

‘I am advised that the Customs and Excise Division has not collected any customs duty on medicinal cannabis since it became available,’ Mr Thomas explained.

‘The Income Tax Division also does not hold information identifying which businesses, if any, are engaged in this sector and is therefore unable to provide income tax data specifically relating to medicinal cannabis.’

The exchange came after members pressed for clarity on whether the island has benefited financially from the development of the industry, with medicinal cannabis still being available only on private prescription.

Since 2024, the Isle of Man has progressed from single-pharmacy pilots to regulated private medicinal cannabis services, with local prescribing, multiple dispensing pharmacies, and a specialist cannabis pharmacy.

During the House of Keys sitting, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse suggested that the Government may have ‘priced itself out’ of potential manufacturing and export opportunities, pointing to the cost of licensing on the island compared with the UK.

However, Mr Thomas dismissed the suggestion that licensing fees were a significant factor in investment decisions.

‘Whether or not that fee is material and significant seems unlikely,’ he said. ‘That amount of money seems trivial compared to the build costs and other factors like electricity costs.

‘I really don't know what happened in terms of the business decision regarding this and I can't get into the heads of the decision-makers about choosing to locate themselves here.

‘The availability of medicinal cannabis for people on the Isle of Man is not about income generation - it's about making sure they have access to safe, legal medicinal cannabis rather than having to go on the black market.’

Further questions from members highlighted the long-mooted medicinal cannabis park proposal at Cooil Road in Braddan, which has been under consideration for several years.

The 72-acre development was intended to support the cultivation and export of medicinal cannabis products, alongside laboratories, offices and conference space dedicated to cannabis research.

Mr Thomas said he was not aware of any recent Council of Ministers decisions in relation to the proposal, adding that he did not believe it was a live planning application.

‘I guess it's not a live planning application if the application's been abandoned,’ he said.

‘It's easy and unfair to lay the blame on the Council of Ministers, but I really don't know because I wasn't a minister during all those years.’

He also suggested it would be more appropriate to direct questions about potential future development in the sector to the Department for Enterprise.