Despite the hoopla that ushered in the changes to the ‘ganja law’, which is supposed to result in the creation of a lucrative local industry for the weed and its by-products, the regulator – the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) – has not yet been able to start formally processing applications.

Communications consultant and government advisor Delano Seiveright told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that there have been “hundreds of expressions of interest in various forms” for licences for medicinal purposes especially, but at this point the application forms are not ready. He said processing would have to await the gazetting of the regulations which the new CLA board has just approved, and that this could take “a few” weeks.

A lack of staffing at the CLA is also an issue that has come up since the body was formed. Seiveright said the authority, which operates for the moment out of JAMPRO’s Trafalgar Road offices, needs about 17 to 20 people “to kick off in a more formal way”.

But the funds requested from the Ministry of Finance to see to that have not been forthcoming.

“We had sent to the Ministry of Finance a specific figure, but they were not able to arrive [at that] so we ended up getting about a third of what was requested,” Seiveright explained. “The board intends to have discussions with [the minister] to see how best we can work within that budget and with assistance from other agencies.”

In the meantime, Dr Andrew Gordon has been replaced by attorney-at-law Hyacinth Lightbourne as board chairman. Other new faces on the board include Seiveright and civil society advocate Eleanor Crichton Hussey.

A CLA release said that the minister responsible for the authority, Karl Samuda, has congratulated the board for the speed at which it has been able to develop the regulations, acknowledging that this was due in large part to the level of continuity that has been given to its work.

The 12 returning board members are: chairman of the National Council on Drug Abuse, Professor Wendel Abel; University of the West Indies Principal and Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Archibald McDonald; head of the National Council for Science and Technology Professor Errol Morrison; prominent Rastafarian Verald ‘Ras Iyah V’ Vassell; Rastafari Millennium Council Executive member Robert ‘Prophet Greg’ Mogg; and businessman Jason Henzell.

The CLA was set up with the passage of the Dangerous Drug (Amendment) Act 2015 to establish a regulated industry, granting licences, permits and other authorisations for ganja to be used for medical, scientific, and therapeutic uses. This involves the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and transportation of ganja as well as hemp. The regulations for hemp have not yet been developed.

Notwithstanding the changes to the law, ganja has not been legalised. People can still be prosecuted if they are found with more than two ounces of the drug in their possession, and have to pay a fine or face imprisonment, or both. They will also have a criminal record. The law prohibits the smoking of ganja in public places such as at offices or other places of work, on sidewalks, bus stops, restaurants, educational institutions, hospitals, areas used by children, and parks.

Being in possession of two ounces or less of ganja is a ticketable offence that attracts no criminal record, and householders can grow up to five ganja plants on their premises.