Noted cannabis advocate Ras Iyah V has issued a warning to prospective overseas investors who may have intentions of exploiting small ganja farmers to line their own pockets. "Don't come with the sugar cane plantation mentality that you going to work these boys and make yourselves rich and put the money in your pocket and gone." Meanwhile, Iyah V, who is a CLA board member, invited foreign investors to partner with grass root ganja farmers to make up the shortfall in government funding. While his Orange Hill community in Westmoreland was chosen, along with Accompong Town in St Elizabeth, as ganja planting pilot projects under the Cannabis Licensing Authority's (CLA's) Alternative Development Project (ADP), the Westmoreland project is yet to sprout as a result of a dearth of suitable lands.

The issue of ganja played very prominently in Jamaica in 2015 with some advocates trumpeting the dawn of a “new green golden kingdom”, while some opponents predicting the doom of our youths to the “green demon”. However, a sober analysis of the situation will reveal that even though there were indeed some victories in relation to how we treat with ganja in Jamaica, there is still a lot more to achieve and pitfalls to be mindful of in relation to our policy on establishing a fully legally regulated ganja industry.

At the recently concluded 6th Latin American and 1st Caribbean Conference on Drug Policy, held in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, I started a discussion on the cannabis situation in Jamaica with a statement that “A lot has happened and a lot has not happened”, and this is the very same way I wish to start the engagement in this blog. Jamaica has in the last two (2) years has been thrust into the midst of the international discourse on drug policy reform, with specific emphasis on Cannabis reform.

Marijuana may be an issue of easy agreement in the ongoing coalition talks between Germany's leading parties. Despite numerous points of contention, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens can find themselves aligned when it comes to cannabis legalization. The FDP emphasizes the revenue that the state could earn from taxing prerolled joints, cannabis flower and edibles. The Greens say legalization would put an end to illegal sales and reduce organized crime. Social Democrat health expert Karl Lauterbach urged the next government to legalize cannabis. Here is a look at countries that have already loosened their policies.

Learn how lessening the barriers for small farmers while raising them for large companies can help to steer legal cannabis markets in a more sustainable and equitable direction based on principles of community empowerment, social justice, fair(er) trade and sustainable development.

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Aurora, a Canadian listed cannabis company, has sold its Jamaica asset for less than its CDN$4.5 million ­valuation in order to get cash. “The company also accepted an offer to sell its Jamaica property for gross proceeds of CDN$3.4 million,” said Aurora in a market filing. The property in Jamaica was idle but would have formed the base for its local operations. Across the local sector, sales between licensed ­dealers in Jamaica – for instance, farmers selling to herb houses – have been falling. The CLA has issued some 60 licences since October 2017 and 15 export authorisations to seven licensees since November 2018. All licensees that have applied to export cannabis have been granted export authorisations.

The Ganja Growers Producers Association Jamaica (GGPAJ) says it is strongly opposed to the Government's embrace of hemp cultivation and has made a number of demands designed to protect the local cannabis industry from what they see as a threat. The GGPAJ's position is outlined in a letter sent to Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) CEO Lincoln Allen as a battle appears to be brewing between the association and its stakeholder groupings on one hand, and “some big corporate interests on the other hand”, regarding the large-scale cultivation of hemp in Jamaica. The association is asking that indisputable scientific evidence be provided about the non-threat or threat to the local ganja industry. (See also: Ganja industry could go up in smoke | Gov't says no plan for industrial hemp industry)

Canadian weed companies have their eye on a massive prize: the lucrative medical and adult cannabis markets that are emerging around the world. Much of the hype around corporate cannabis is linked to the acquisition of lands and smaller growing operations internationally. The selling point is that cannabis can be grown overseas and exported to meet demand in Canada (and eventually the US), but also that Canadian companies position themselves as suppliers in emerging local markets. Lobbying to impact national legislation, supporting criminalization of traditional producers, and moving into remote territories with plans to implement plantation style economies are just some of the critiqued practices of Canada’s emerging cannabis sector.

The recommendation follows the completion of a market study of the cannabis industry in Jamaica, which revealed that funding is one of the major impediments in the industry. The FTC report, which was released in August, stated "policymakers should consider establishing [a] source of funding to encourage easier entry/expansion of the legitimate trade of cannabis". The agency said this is crucial as potential entrants may encounter difficulties accessing loans through local financial institutions given global efforts to limit the illegal trade of cannabis. The recommendation was also made in light of the fact that access of legally produced cannabis to international markets is likely to be frustrated by numerous treaties established to curtail the illegal trade of cannabis.

A tripartite agreement was signed to implement a cannabis pilot programme in Accompong, St Elizabeth, under the Cannabis Licensing Authority's (CLA) Alternative Development Programme. The agreement was signed by representatives of the CLA, Accompong Town Maroons, and Timeless Herbal Care. The Alternative Development Programme is being implemented as a strategy to transition traditional cannabis farmers from an illicit framework into the regulated environment, as a means of promoting sustainable economic development and poverty eradication. It is also aimed at providing access to quality-controlled cannabis for medicinal purposes, in keeping with government policy.

Significant policy shifts have led to an unprecedented boom in medical cannabis markets, while a growing number of countries are moving towards the legal regulation of adult non-medical use. This trend is likely to bring a range of benefits. Yet there are growing concerns over the many for-profit cannabis companies from the global North that are aggressively competing to capture the licit spaces now opening in the multibillion-dollar global cannabis market. This threatens to push small-scale traditional farmers from the global South out of the emerging legal markets.

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Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Irwin LaRocque has warned the region against trading cannabis through member states. He made the comments at a press briefing, ahead of the 40th Regular Meeting of Heads of Government. LaRocque cited the Regional Commission on Marijuana, established in 2014, and the subsequent report presented in 2018. He said the report is the basis upon which member states will determine how they treat the matter at a national level, since it takes into consideration aspects including the medical, social and religious, as well as the impact on young people.  

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has moved to assure members of the Rastafarian faith in Jamaica that their requests to transport ganja to be smoked as a religious sacrament will be granted expeditiously. This follows a demonstration late last month by irate Rastafarians in front of the Barnett Street Police Station in the wake of the seizure by police of 10 pounds of the weed from a member of the faith. “Where, unfortunately, a lot of you (Rastas) are getting into trouble is to get it (ganja) from where you buy it, or where you grow it, to the temple or to your home. You need an exemption. If you are going to transport it at all, just write me to get the exemption. I will approve it within hours,” the justice minister guaranteed.

The four-year-old Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) reached another major milestone last week by issuing its 50th licence for medicinal use of the drug. The 50th licensee is Outlier Biopharma, a Montego Bay-based company, which provides consulting and advisory services to companies that wish to expand capacity and lower their operational cost, while improving their return on investment. In making the announcement, the CLA acknowledged that, as at October 31 this year, it had issued a total of 49 licences. There are a further 16 applications at the granted stage that will be issued on the payment of the respective fees and security bonds. In addition, there are 259 applications at the conditionally approved stage. (See also: Americans behind Jamaica's latest medical hemp company)

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green has directed the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) to fast track the cannabis licensing approval process. Green met with the heads of the authority to discuss the functioning of the authority, the implementation of the alternative development programme and the cannabis licensing application process. He expressed concerns about the length of time between application and decision, and asked the agency to explore ways to reduce the time, noting that a significant proportion of the delay in the decision making process was as a result of the due diligence requirements. (See also: Accompong targeted for hemp pilot | Call for CLA to waive licensing fees for Rasta farmers)

An ethnographic study of women and drug use in inner city neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, revealed that cannabis is commonly used in conjunction with crack cocaine to minimize the undesirable effects of crack pipe smoking, specifically paranoia and weight loss.

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An ethnographic study of women and drug use in inner city neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, revealed that cannabis is commonly used in conjunction with crack cocaine to minimize the undesirable effects of crack pipe smoking, specifically paranoia and weight loss.

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The decriminalization and regulation of cannabis has been occurring in many jurisdictions in the United States – but also closer to home and more significantly in Jamaica. While unable to directly compete with these long-established producers, the Windward Islands are home to their own significant, albeit illegal, cannabis economy. A pressing task facing the cash strapped governments of the Windward Islands, particularly St Vincent and St Lucia is to capitalize on the current climate of drug reform and adopt creative decriminalization policies which will ensure that they are able to transition the employment, income generation and value added opportunities from the ganja economy to the legal economy.

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Many countries are changing the way they approach people who use drugs. The Irish government has just announced possible alternatives to criminalisation for possession of some drugs. Other countries, including Norway and Malaysia, are weighing options. But what can countries do if they don’t want to arrest or convict people because they use drugs? To inform the Irish government’s decision, we carried out a detailed review of approaches in various countries, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK and the US. We found three main approaches: depenalisation, diversion and decriminalisation. Given some models bring greater long-term gains, there is merit in arguing that governments ought to be bold.

Ganja growers and producers say regulations to the updated Dangerous Drugs Act (2015) are too stringent and pose a major impediment to those who represent the backbone of the industry, and, by extension, its development. Vice-president of the Ganja Growers and Producers Association of Jamaica (GGPAJ) Maurice Ellis, who is also an executive member of the Jamaica Licensed Cannabis Association (JLCA), argues that the GGPAJ has been pushing for changes to some of the barriers to entering the industry. The small farmers are at a vast disadvantage as a result of the extensive nature of the rules laid down in law. “When it comes on to the small farmer he's not being left behind; he's actually being left out." (See also: Cannabis Authority taking steps to meet growing demand, says Green)