Cannabis reform and a proposed national lottery could be in place before the next general election in 2029, Premier André Ebanks has said.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, 2 Oct., in response to a question from George Town Central MP Kenneth Bryan, Ebanks said both issues, which were the subject of referendum questions at the last election, had been referred by Cabinet to the Law Reform Commission.

Premier Ebanks noted that the commission has received 33 submissions from members of the public and organisations on the proposed decriminalisation of the possession of small quantities of cannabis and is preparing a draft final report for review.

The commission is expected to complete deliberations and finalise recommendations by the end of this year, before submitting its report to the attorney general for consideration by caucus and Cabinet.

The work follows the commission’s July 2026 publication of a discussion paper, titled “Cannabis Reform: Options for a Harm Minimisation Framework” on options and a September deadline for public submissions.

The paper examined whether the importation, production, distribution, sale, possession and consumption of cannabis should remain illegal. It also considered whether the home cultivation of cannabis for personal use should be decriminalised, and if penalties for possession and consumption of the drug should be replaced with administrative penalties, such as fines, rather a criminal conviction.

The review of the national lottery question will take longer than the cannabis-reform issue, the premier said, due to its wide-ranging scope.

He said the Law Reform Commission is currently examining possible regulatory and operating models, oversight, responsible-gambling safeguards, economic issues, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing requirements, technology, procurement, data protection and how proceeds would be used.

Ebanks noted that the commission also “must consider the consequential amendments that may be required across a number of existing Cayman Islands laws. As part of this work, the commission has identified a broad range of comparative legislative and regulatory models for examination.”

The premier said the commission’s work also includes reviewing models from 13 jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore. He added that it was developing a framework for input from government agencies, financial and law-enforcement bodies, social services, businesses and other stakeholders.

The commission’s legal and legislative team is expected to complete its research and draft a discussion paper by December. Ebanks said an eight-week public consultation is anticipated to begin in January or February 2027, after which the commission plans to analyse submissions and prepare a final report, a draft national lottery bill and any related legislative amendments by the end of May 2027.

After that, the attorney general will submit the final report to caucus and Cabinet.

“Given the breadth and intricacy of the subject, the commission considers it important that the review be sufficiently thorough to provide government with a sound and evidence-based basis on which to consider any future legislative and regulatory framework for a national lottery,” Ebanks said.

In a follow-up question, Bryan asked if Ebanks was optimistic that a national lottery and decriminalisation of cannabis would be implemented before the next general election, in 2029.

The premier responded, “Yes, as per the timelines I read.”

He also said the government’s priority was to complete the analysis and recommendations along those timelines, and added, “Where it goes from there, based on public feedback, I can’t determine until the pieces of legislation have been properly ventilated.”

He added that his government was “definitely committed to bring all the final recommendations and any proposed legislation into this chamber for consideration by members and the public.”

Both referendum questions were put to the voting public during the 30 April 2025 general election, along with a third question about building a cruise berthing pier. Voters supported the decriminalisation of cannabis and the introduction of a national lottery, but rejected building a cruise pier.