There’s a hint of disappointment in Courtney Betty’s voice when he talks about the present state of Jamaica’s legal medicinal cannabis regime. “I don’t think some of the companies coming in to do business here want to understand the social realities of Jamaica, or the real history of ganja in my country,” he said from his home in the country’s capital, Kingston. “I don’t think it is out of ignorance; I think this is just the way Western companies conduct business abroad.” By “Western” companies, Betty — the chief executive officer of Jamaican medical marijuana company Timeless Herbal Care — means Canadian. Since Jamaica legalized cannabis for medicinal cultivation and sale four years ago, a slew of Canadian pot companies have flooded the tiny island nation.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) has joined other stock markets across the globe in bracing for the impact of the Cannabis Banking Bill, which is currently before the US Congress. Having already been passed by the US House of Representatives on September 25, the SAFE Banking Act, which now goes to the Senate, where if it is passed would lift restrictions in the US on American banks doing business with cannabis companies. As a result of this move, securities exchanges in Jamaica and around the world are considering the implications for their own economic institutions. At present, foreign-based financial institutions with US banking relationships cannot freely work with legal cannabis businesses.

Legislation to lay the framework for legal cannabis in Bermuda was tabled in the House of Assembly. Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney-General and the Minister of Legal Affairs said the Cannabis Licensing Act 2020 would open the door for the legal use of cannabis in Bermuda by those over the age of 21. The long debated law also details for the framework for commercial cannabis production and sales including licences for importation, exportation and transport. Licences will be developed to allow the importation and exportation of cannabis to countries where the drug is lawful. The Bill would allow the minister to exclude powerful strains of cannabis. (See also: Bermuda plans adult-use, medical cannabis industry)

Draft legislation for the legalisation of cannabis is to be put out for public consultation in Bermuda, the Attorney-General said. Kathy Lynn Simmons unveiled proposals for medical and recreational cannabis use in the Senate last December and the views of the public were also canvassed. But Ms Simmons said the original plans were seen to be “not going far enough” and “too complicated to be effective”. She added that the Government had amended the legislation to meet public expectations of “further decriminalisation of cannabis, to the greatest extent possible, via a regulated framework”. Ms Simmons said attitudes to the drug had evolved and that there was a recognition of the need for new industries. (See also: Bermuda government releases marijuana legalization bill for public feedback)

St Vincent’s Medicinal Marijuana industry is a go. Over 30 licences have been approved by the Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) for the cultivation, development and export of medicinal marijuana products. The MCA has approved licences for eight local farmers’ producer cooperatives with an aggregated membership of over 100 traditional cultivators; traditional cultivators of cannabis who applied individually; three non-traditional local farmers; and 10 companies with the directorship of nationals from the OECS, CARICOM, North America, Europe and Africa. MCA said based on the applications under review it projects that by September an additional 200 traditional cultivators will obtain cultivation licences. (See also: Vincy ‘high’ | Acres Agricultural Canada receives 300-acre cannabis license)

The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has established interim measures to facilitate online sales by licensed retail herb houses to registered patients in keeping with the Government's initiatives to practise safety while ensuring business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CLA said the measures for the online sale and subsequent pick up of the ganja at licensed retail facilities, were established in consultation with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries. In a separate move last week, CLA also established interim regulations for the import and export of cannabis products, while a Canadian company pulled out of expansion plans in Jamaica's cannabis industry.

Caribbean states face challenges of youth involvement in crime, violence, gangs and other anti-social activities. It is not uncommonly heard the “drug problem” is to be blamed for this. This briefing wants to show this relation is far more complex and often misunderstood.

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A bill that will allow residents to possess and use small quantities of marijuana will go before parliament on 12 December for the first time. According to the country’s latest cabinet notes, the Marijuana Bill will be read a first time and distributed when parliament convenes in 19 days. The bill focuses on decriminalising up to 5g of marijuana, eliminating fines associated with the currently illegal drug. The government is hoping that by passing the Marijuana Bill, it will lessen what it termed the “expensive” costs associated with pursuing convictions and prosecuting people who were caught with small amounts of the drug. (See also: Antigua and Barbuda set to pass inclusive cannabis regulation law)

The Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana has green-lighted recreational and medicinal marijuana, insisting that Bahamians should own 51 percent of the industry in a legalized framework. The preliminary report, which was leaked to the media, features recommendations from various subcommittees on the medical, economic, religious and recreational use of cannabis in The Bahamas. Several parts of the report have not yet been completed and remain under review by the commission. “The Bahamas must have ownership of the cannabis industry so that Bahamians can have their share of the pie,” the report states. (See also: Nearly 7,000 people arrested for cannabis since 2014 | Set cannabis tax below 10 percent, says commission)

The newly formed Marijuana Commission held its first meeting to plan the way forward for activities. In a March interview, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet announced a decision had been reached to decriminalize cannabis, following which commercial opportunities would be looked into. Then last month Commerce Minister Bradley Felix, the government’s point man on cannabis, announced the formation of a Marijuana Commission mandated to “consult and provide advice on the design of a legislative and regulatory framework for cannabis”. The Commission is expected to engage in public consultation over a three-month period before reporting to Cabinet.

The President of the Cannabis Revival Committee (CRC) in St Vincent and Grenadines, Junior “Spirit” Cottle, is urging farmers not to accept anything less than EC$300 (EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) for a pound after a locally-based medicinal cannabis company was offering US$50 a pound. “We are not saying we are not going higher. But we are not going below that. And, under the medical industry, we're looking for more than that. We will be negotiating but, as it stands now, under the amnesty, it mustn't go below that,” Cottle said. The CRC called on traditional cultivators of cannabis “to be on the lookout for some foreign investors who want to offer them lower than the unofficial EC$300 minimum which they have been receiving for one pound of cannabis”. (See also: Reject $50 ganja offer — MP)

El mercado de cocaína fumable se estableció hace décadas, por lo que no se trata de un fenómeno nuevo. En lugar de desaparecer, está experimentando una expansión paulatina, y ha pasado de constituir un hábito bastante localizado y aislado en la región andina en la década de 1970 a tener un alcance que se despliega en todas las direcciones, en toda América del Norte y del Sur, incluidas las regiones del Caribe y América Central. Las sociedades del continente americano han convivido con las cocaínas fumables durante más de cuatro décadas, pero —aunque resulte sorprendente—, existen pocos estudios sobre la evolución del mercado y pocas pruebas de primera mano sobre cómo se comercializa realmente esta sustancia y cómo la utilizan millones de personas en la región.

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People convicted of minor drug offences can have their convictions expunged, the Attorney-General said. But Kathy Lynn Simmons warned that offenders who had their convictions erased may still be blocked from entering the US. The expungement laws passed last year were now in force. An expungement order would erase criminal conviction records for the offence of simple possession of cannabis of seven grams or less, for offences committed before December 20, 2017, when possession of that amount was decriminalised. “By allowing expungement of criminal records … the Government has ensured that persons formerly convicted are not excluded from the social justice reforms that are being instituted."

A recent study has found that a majority of Jamaica’s population may be in support of relaxing the laws prohibiting the use of marijuana. The study, which was conducted by pollster Don Anderson, reveals that 55 per cent of those interviewed felt that the laws criminalising marijuana should be relaxed. Anderson notes that 55 per cent of respondents also believe that marijuana should be commercialised. (See also: Ganja Medicine: Local doctors approve patients' use of marijuana)

Most St Lucians are either in support of the legalisation or partial decriminalisation of marijuana according to a poll conducted by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES). CADRES said that it conducted the poll from September 8-11, and interviewed approximately 1,000 people across the island. According to CADRES, which also conducted similar polls in several Caribbean islands including Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the results of the surveys tell an important story that is likely to be applicable across the region, which is that public opinion is generally moving in the direction of greater support for decriminalisation and an increasing opposition to the status quo.

The National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has said they will be monitoring closely the new legislation which allows Rastafarians in Barbados to cultivate and use marijuana for sacramental purposes. Last year, the House of Parliament passed the Sacramental Cannabis Act 2018 which allows those within the Rastafarian faith to grow and cultivate marijuana on the premises where they worship. The legislation states that those who wish to grow and use the plant for sacramental purposes would need to apply for a permit. The Manager of the NCSA, Betty Hunte, said the possibility of marijuana falling into "the wrong hands" is a real concern, as is the case with any drug. 

Reforming the Cannabis industry into one which earns maximum benefits globally, is the goal of newly appointed Chairman for the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), LeVaughn Flynn. Flynn, who has written several articles advocating for the cannabis industry, said he believes the industry is at a very interesting point, where there is transformation, and is elated to lead the process that will benefit Jamaicans. “We've seen the rescheduling and reclassification of cannabis by the United Nations and also by the US Government, and those things give us the impression that potentially, in another couple years, we could have cannabis legalised at the Federal level in the US, and when that happens, that completely opens the global free trade for cannabis,” he said.

It was sold on the streets and at parties. It was sold to people from all walks of life, from university students to businessmen to middle-class workers. It was sold not only in its leafy form but also in edibles like cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and the like. There have even been some stories of some marijuana dealers making home deliveries. But how has this changed since marijuana was decriminalised? Are more people buying weed? Are people buying more weed? Have the prices changed since decriminalisation? Or is it business as usual? Business Day approached – let’s call them “small businessmen” on Trinidad – who specialised in the distribution of the plant, and the word on the street is, so far, nothing has changed. But according to consultants on the law, changes will come and soon.

Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill is urging the Government to formulate a policy framework to define its position on cannabis. Cannabis could provide opportunities, including a new retail market, with appropriate properties operating as dispensaries for the legal sale. “This further gives us the opportunity for branding products such as Orange Hill ganja, as well as a dedicated source of income straight from the retail market to these approved growers,” he said. The UN estimates that 37,000 acres of illegal ganja is grown in Jamaica for each crop cycle, with a production of approximately 66 million pounds per year. Given the estimated value of between $9,000 and $22,000 per pound, this equates to $1.48 trillion, or about 70 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).