THE Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has issued two of the five licences granted for legal operation in the cannabis industry.

The licences were issued to Epican and Everyting Oily, a tier one cultivator and a tier one processor, respectively.

The two signed their tripartite agreement at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries yesterday, signifying their arrangement to conduct business together, which a release from CLA said is in keeping with the requirement to have the industry operate as a closed-loop system.

“Although it has taken some time to get to this historic occasion, we have remained committed to getting it right, to ensure that Jamaica’s stake in the global medicinal cannabis industry is never compromised and remains sustainable,” CLA Chairman Hyacinth Lightbourne is quoted in the release as saying.

“During the process, we have endeavoured to remain in dialogue with our applicants every step of the way, and are confident they have satisfied the rigours of the regulations,” Lightbourne said.

The chairman said the CLA has another three applicants who have been granted licences and are completing their requirements to be issued.

Another 57 applications are at the conditional approval stage and 209 applications are being processed by the CLA, the release said.