Bermuda excludes hemp with up to one per cent THC from cannabis controls

Bermuda drew a new legal distinction between hemp and controlled cannabis on 26 November 2019. It defined hemp as cannabis sativa, or any part of it, with no more than one per cent THC, and excluded hemp from the drug law’s definition of cannabis. The law’s stated purpose was to allow hemp-product imports, possession, supply and sale.

A new definition changed which plants and parts counted

The amendment replaced the existing cannabis definition and added a separate definition of hemp. It allowed the minister to specify a different THC concentration through an order published in the Gazette.

The cannabis definition also continued to distinguish resin and certain separated products, including mature stalks, stalk fibre and seeds. These distinctions mattered because the law treated different materials separately.

The one-per-cent rule therefore concerned the plant or part defined as hemp. Products still had to be assessed under the rules applying to their ingredients and form.

The government connected hemp with trade and business

Attorney-General Kathy Lynn Simmons told the Senate in December that the change allowed hemp products to be imported, possessed, supplied or sold, and confirmed that the law was operating from 26 November.

Her statement placed the amendment within a sequence that included decriminalising small cannabis possession in 2017 and a new medical-cannabis consultation.

The medical proposal involved prescribed cannabis used by inhalation, local production and a licensing authority. The hemp definition addressed a different part of that evolving market: products distinguished by their low THC content.

Growing remained subject to a separate rule

The drug law’s cultivation clause continued to refer to any plant of the genus Cannabis, subject to regulatory authorisation. Excluding hemp from the definition of cannabis did not rewrite that separate cultivation clause.

Resin also remained separately defined in the drug law. These features meant the new hemp definition had to be read alongside the rules for growing and other controlled substances.

Consumer-product rules remained a policy concern

Bermuda later pursued a broader cannabis licensing plan, which was blocked when the UK instructed the governor to withhold assent in 2022.

In July 2026, the national security minister identified hemp and hemp-derived products as an immediate reform priority. He said products were already being sold without a sufficiently clear compliance framework. For Bermuda, the 2019 definition was an important legal step, followed by further work on how consumer products should be regulated.^[1][2][3][4]