There was increasing evidence of the continued acceleration of the social and economic recognition of cannabis at the recent staging of the CanEx Business Conference and Expo at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, Jamaica.
The fifth instalment of the CanEx Business Conference, held between September 15 and 17, saw a gathering of global cannabis industry experts, consumers and investors providing illuminating insights into the direction of an industry that had, not many years ago, been demonised and deemed unlawful by the authorities in many countries.
The event featured a mix of high-level discourse and practical opportunities led by global experts with real-life applications in the cannabis industry. The promotional material offered discussion on “opportunities for investment, medical advances and uses, and the current legal landscape of the emerging global cannabis industry.”
Just how far Jamaica has gone in its endorsement of cannabis was reflected not just in the presence of its Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia Grange at the event, but also her remarks which reportedly included an expression of regret over the fact that “Rastafarians are not adequately benefitting from Jamaica’s cannabis industry,” according to a September 17 Jamaica Gleaner report. Minister Grange was quoted in the Gleaner as saying that accolades are due to the country’s Rastafarian community “for cultivating, safeguarding and preserving marijuana for its cultural, medicinal and therapeutic uses.”
The minister also acknowledged that “in seeking to preserve and safeguard marijuana, which has now morphed into a global multibillion-dollar industry, many members of the Rastafarian community suffered harsh retaliation for promoting an activity which was illegal,” the report said. Describing her ministry as “the focal point for Rasta”, the minister reportedly said it was “not satisfied that the Rastafari community is benefitting from the country’s cannabis industry.
“This is the substance of reparation, they suffered for it. Whatever we do, we must repair the damage by making sure they also benefit from the fruits of their labour.” Contextually, she reportedly noted that the exclusion of the country’s Rastafarian community was occurring, the 2015 amendment of the country’s Dangerous Drugs Act, notwithstanding.
“Seven years after the amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act, we are still struggling to establish a solid, thriving, globally-acclaimed cannabis industry in Jamaica, which would bring revenues to households, companies and the government,” the Gleaner quoted the minister as saying.
A recently released global cannabis industry forecast projects that the international market will sell $35 billion this year, a 22% increase over US$29 billion in sales last year. Against the backdrop of the COVID crisis, the global market for cannabis beverages, estimated at US$1 billion in 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$2 billion by 2026. Cannabis continues to gain popularity globally, its use for recreational purposes reportedly being much higher than its use for medicinal purposes.
While the legal systems in some Caricom countries still frown on marijuana use, the authorities in the region have done a less than stellar job in restricting its consumption. Beyond local consumption, visitors to the Caribbean from countries where marijuana use is either restricted or prohibited reportedly equate Caribbean vacations with the opportunity to enjoy marijuana’s pungent aromas and intoxicating impact.
The signs from the region, as a whole, however, are that the decriminalisation of marijuana is gradually advancing with more territories seemingly prepared to either welcome or, at worst, remain indifferent to marijuana use.
Since 2014, Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the US Virgin Islands have all either approved or enacted legislation to decriminalise the use of small amounts of marijuana. Barbados and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have also approved medical cannabis cultivation in recent years.
Jamaica, historically, has been consistently unequivocal in its embracing of marijuana. Upon the country’s decriminalisation of marijuana in 2015, current Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett went on record as saying that cannabis-infused tourism had a place in Jamaica’s product mix, alongside all-inclusive resorts and mass tourism. Indeed, organised “ganja tours” are available in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.
