Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Our Competitive Advantage 70

Bloomberg has put plans in place to establish the Global Marijuana Index that will include all the major trading cannabis stocks around the world to facilitate the establishment of different clusters of indices to list cannabis firms. With the global business of cannabis taking shape and form, many countries have or are currently amending their legislations for developing cannabis industries. The major pharmaceutical companies across the world are in the process of registering patents for cannabis-derived products with therapeutic and medical value. Therefore, as many countries enter the global market space of cannabis and production of raw materials increase, the intellectual property of cannabis-patented products will be of most value within the globalized market. Changes to cannabis Legislation in the Caribbean In 2015, Cannabis sativa was decriminalised in Jamaica. The country’s Parliament introduced legislative amendments to the Dangerous Drug Act in 2015, making the possession of two ounces (56.6 grams) or less of cannabis a ticket-able offense by law. Belize is the second Caribbean country to decriminalise 10 grams of cannabis or less, after legislators approved amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act, 2017. The St Vincent and the Grenadines has announced that they are on a path of establishing a modern medical cannabis industry . In Antigua and Barbuda, the amendments to the Misuse of Drug Act are now before a joint select committee of the Parliament; the new law will facilitate individuals to legally possess up to 10 grams of cannabis. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2014 established a Regional Commission on Marijuana to address the issues identified and other matters deemed relevant to provide clear guidance to the CARICOM Heads of Government with regard to a regional decision on the subject matter. The CARICOM Commission has since held town-hall meetings in various jurisdictions such as Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis in aid of advancing the discourse of cannabis regionally. Other NGO groups in Dominica, the Rastafari Inity Waitikubuli Multipurpose Cooperative (RIWMCOP) and Trinidad and Tobago, Cannabis and You (CAY) have also held public forums engaging cannabis discussions. Where will the Caribbean go from here? Thus far, Jamaica is leading the region with the implementation of a Cannabis Licencing Authority (CLA) to govern and regulate its medical cannabis industry. The mainland territories of Belize and Guyana have Hemp Associations, are experienced in large agro enterprise and mechanization, and possess large areas of flat land that can facilitate the cultivation of industrial hemp. Trinidad and Tobago is considered the manufacturing hub of the region due to its petroleum industry that lowers the cost of manufacturing value added products.

Commercial Grade Greenhouse for growing cannabis

in an evening ritual through the sacred use of ganja . In the 1940s Jamaica was home to the first Ganja Enterprise in the Western hemisphere headed by Leonard Percival Howell in the form of a Rastafari commune known as the Pinnacle Estate. The Pinnacle Estate was a self-sustaining community that cultivated cannabis as a cash crop and exported to its colonial superior, England. Cannabis and the Global economy The global business of cannabis is currently valued at more than $400 billion USD and compounding each year as the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes is increasing and more traditional pharmaceutical companies are voyaging into the industry to increase the viability and long-term sustainability. Twenty-eight states in the U.S and the District of Columbia now have approved medical cannabis programmes, while eight states plus the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for recreational consumption. Although medical cannabis is allowed throughout Canada, the government is moving towards fully legalizing recreational use by April 1, 2019. In Australia, companies involved in the cultivation, production and research of medical cannabis have observed their average market shares increase by 130 per cent in 2017. Europe is set to become the largest medical cannabis market in the world with a potential market of over 140 million active cannabis consumers. Germany has taken the lead by launching the first legal and regulated medical cannabis market in Europe with several other countries announcing legislative amendments to advance the legal cannabis agenda.

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