KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has put interim measures in place for the importation and exportation of cannabis, as the organisation awaits the promulgation of the Dangerous Drugs (Cannabis Import and Export Licensing) Regulations 2020.

CLA said the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) has submitted the final draft of the regulations to the Ministry of Justice after consultations were conducted with stakeholders.

Minister of State in MICAF, Floyd Green, said both ministries have been working closely to implement the regulations.

In the meantime, Green said the ‘Interim Measures – Importation of Cannabis’ and the ‘Interim Measures – Export of Cannabis’, can be found on the CLA’s website.

The CLA said that it has been facilitating exports from its licensees using these protocols for over a year.

“Over this period, several licensees have taken advantage of these interim measures and have exported cannabis and its extract (oil) to countries across the world such as Canada, Australia and the Cayman Islands,” the organisation said.

“The CLA stands ready to facilitate the export of cannabis and its extracts by its licensees as long as the authority is satisfied that the licensee has met all the requirements of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 protocol,” Chief Executive Officer of the CLA, Lincoln Allen said.

He added, that “upon the promulgation of these regulations the CLA will continue to facilitate the import and export of cannabis by its licensees.”

The CLA has issued 60 licences since October 2017 and 15 export authorisations to seven licensees since November 2018.

All licensees that have applied to export cannabis have been granted export authorisations after meeting the requirements of the posted interim measures.