THE financially lucrative medical ganja industry must include the working class in all aspects in order to survive, stated Professor Archibald McDonald, chairman of the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Task Force (CCMRT).

Professor McDonald’s comments come as Government aims to create a framework to license players for the developing industry.

“As we develop and welcome this billion-dollar industry, we must remember that ganja is linked to the lives of the lower class and working people. Let us not forget that they bore the brunt of the injustice,” stated Professor McDonald, who is also principal of the University of West Indies, Mona, in his keynote address to the Scientific Research Council’s biennial conference on Monday.

He told ganja stakeholders at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston that the plant plays an important role in working-class lives as a cash crop, folk medicine and sacrament.

“No ganja industry will survive unless they are involved in all aspects. These are sensitive issues that will not be solved overnight when the laws are changed. We must not just think of the future growers but also the existing growers and how we make the transition smooth,” he said.

The two-day conference, being held under the theme ‘Green Gold: Medicinal Ganja and other natural products (A potential source of Wealth)’ included ganja displays from four cannabis companies.

McDonald welcomed the national interest in the steps to decriminalise and commercialise the drug. He also called for “greater interest in the scientific exploitation of other medical plants and agriculture in general”.

The Jamaican Government, in summer, drafted legislation to decriminalise possession of small quantities of ganja, whilst also modifying the Dangerous Drugs Act in order to set rules for the cultivation and use of medical ganja and industrial hemp.

The business of ganja gained legitimacy amid the relaxation of laws in the US states of Colorado and Washington followed by Washington, DC; Oregon; and Alaska.

Financial analysts in the US have reported that in 2011, the medical marijuana industry was worth US$1.7 billion. They have also projected that by 2016 it will grow US$9 billion.

SCIENCE CONF 1

Professor Gerald Lalor (centre), former University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona principal, in discussion with Professor Henry Lowe (right), noted anti-cancer scientist and executive director of Bio-Tech Research and Development; and Professor Archibald McDonald, chairman of the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Task Force and current UWI, Mona principal. Occasion was day one of the two-day Scientific Research Council Biennial Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Monday. (PHOTO: MICHAEL GORDON)