From the standpoint of its ‘graduation’ from the status of a condition in which possession of even tiny quantities of the substance could result in brushes with the law, to its current status of having now been widely embraced as a highly regarded medical tool, cannabis has travelled leagues in a relatively short time.
Here in the Caribbean, it is Jamaica where the image of the late iconic reggae superstar Bob Marley, thick smoke from a puff of ‘weed’ slightly masking part of his sharp features, is now as familiar as the country’s national flag, which is leading the way. In the developed world, Canada has emerged as runaway front runners as far as the legalisation of cannabis is concerned. A point has now been reached where the commercial trade in the substance being on a scale that might one day match some of the Caribbean’s other famous commercial crops (sugar?) beckons, and again it is Jamaica that is leading the way.