UNITED Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP) Crispin Blunt will be in Jamaica next week for a series of meetings and an address to CanEX 2019 — a cannabis business-related conference — scheduled for the Montego Bay Convention Centre, September 26-28.

Blunt, a British Conservative Party politician serving as MP for the Reigate constituency in Surrey, is currently chairman of the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, a former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons and parliamentary under-secretary of state for prisons and youth justice.

He will be meeting a number of key persons in the sector when he comes for the conference, and has noted that the benefits of medicine from cannabis for citizens, worldwide, have been postponed for over half a century, as consequence of racist attitudes from the 1950s.

“It is one of the many reasons why it is right to meet at CanEX Jamaica to discuss how to maximise the public benefits available from this remarkable plant. The discussions are finally enabling evidence to cut through prejudice,” Blunt said in a statement.

The Tory MP has repeatedly called for the legalisation and regulation of marijuana. He told the Cannabis Europa conference in London in June that he was predicting that the drug would be legalised in the UK within five years.

“We are about 50 years behind on the science about what the potential is here,” he said.

Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) Board Director Delano Seiveright said that Blunt’s attendance at the conference is seminal.

“We are keen on developments in countries like the United Kingdom; policy shifts or even mere changes in attitudes on the subject there can impact globally and make it easier for Jamaican stakeholders to navigate this complicated geopolitical field,” he said.

Douglas Gordon conceptualised and organised CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo as a business-to-business conference that brings together cannabis industry professionals from across the world to discuss advances in the industry and be provided a platform for knowledge sharing.

He said that there is a great fascination with the Jamaican market, especially its legacy.

“Jamaica’s relationship with the cannabis industry goes back over 50 years. The music and culture have created an association with cannabis from a recreational perspective; from that has come people who have gone one step further to do research and identify and understand the medicinal benefits,” Gordon pointed out.

“There is a lot more focus and emphasis on medicinal cannabis as a treatment for a variety of different ailments and promoting a general sense of wellness, which is one of the reasons this industry has truly come alive,” he added.

CanEx 2019 will this year feature more speakers and panellists discussing a range of topics, including health, wellness, regulatory and investment opportunities in the cannabis industry.

Speakers will include: Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw; former Mexican President Vincente Fox; Saboto Caesar, minister of agriculture, forestry, fisheries in St Vincent and the Grenadines; Gustavo Boliver Moreno, Colombian senator; T’Shura Gibbs, CEO of Zimmer and Company; Ras Iyah-V; Bruce Linton (Canopy Growth); entrepreneur Steve DeAngelo; and Cam Battley, Aurora Cannabis.