GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Researchers with a Caribbean trade bloc have found that decriminalizing marijuana and exploring its use for medicinal purposes could help boost the region’s sluggish economy.
Caricom leaders are expected to talk about the preliminary report in a two-day summit that begins tomorrow in the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent. The report was released Friday to The Associated Press.
Experts said the Caribbean already has a built-in competitive advantage with marijuana cultivation, noting that Jamaican researchers have launched a company that produces therapeutic and cosmetic products derived from the plants.
“The region may wish therefore to explore any commercial benefit from a potential multi-billion industry including research and development and also the production of medical marijuana products,” the report stated.
Activists in Jamaica, St Lucia and other islands have pushed to legalize ganja use, with Jamaica’s health minister recently stating he was “fully on board” with medical marijuana.
