KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) — A senior member of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Government wants a more in-depth “conversation” here on the issue of the decriminalisation of marijuana for medicinal purposes even though the matter has been in the public domain since 2013.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has already asked his fellow Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders to discuss the issue and while Caricom has launched a marijuana commission, which has held consultations across the region, regional countries have not enacted legislation to give effect to the matter.

Jamaica, however, has decriminalised the possession of small quantities of the plant, and last week, Belize introduced legislation to its Parliament to debate the matter. Prime Minister Gonsalves said that his administration will act in tandem with the recommendations of the regional commission.

But Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar, speaking on a local radio programme, said there has to be a national discussion, adding that this will inform the change in the laws.

He said that marijuana possession is still illegal in St Vincent and the Grenadines, even as he made reference to the move towards medical marijuana internationally.

Caesar said much research has gone into and continues to go into the subject over the past years.

“It will be really crazy of us to close our eyes to all the information that is evolving internationally,” Caesar said, adding it is time for a national discussion and the legislative framework that would be informed by what comes out of the national discussion.

“I hope we do not miss the boat. I hope so. But I want to clearly note that we are speaking about marijuana for medicinal purposes; not recreational,” Caesar said, noting that there are a lot of commodities in St Vincent and the Grenadines, marijuana being one of them, that have medicinal purposes.

“And I don’t want the discussion to be zoned into marijuana alone, but all the things in your backyard that your grandmother used to use when you have a fever, when you have a cold. We’re allowing these to just go by the way and going and picking up all these new drugs that are in. So it is a whole medicinal industry. I think that is where we need to structure the discussion.”

Caesar said he is against recreational use of marijuana not only because it is illegal now but also because he has not done the health studies on it.

“I don’t have any information about health studies,” he said, adding “you should hear the stories of the people who have been treated using the medicinal marijuana.

“I think it is a start, it is a good discussion. I think there is a great industry to come out of this and we just need to respect each other’s views and have it going… We don’t want to be left behind, don’t want to be left behind at all.”

Caesar is calling for a discussion locally, at least half a year after it became public that the Canadian investors who are building a resort at Peter’s Hope have indicated an interest in cashing in on the local marijuana plant.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Ambassador to Cuba Ellsworth John, who wooed Canadian firm PACE Developments to the country, made the disclosure in a radio interview in January.

“One of the reasons I think they are focused on the black sand is because black sand, the volcano, is supposed to have some kind of medicinal purposes,” John said.

“And so, one of the benefits that’s going to be pushed for the resort is the whole concept of medical marijuana. I know they are in discussions right now about different things — oh, I’m not supposed to say those things? There you are,” John said.