ISLINGTON, St Mary — Vice-president of the Ganja Growers and Producers Association of Jamaica Errol Haughton has put members and other local stakeholders on notice that they have a lot of work ahead if they are to benefit from America’s recent step towards reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

“The ganja association would need to revisit their own regime and to correct some errors that they have made in the past and strengthen the parameters of the whole industry. Our intention is always to protect the local farmers and local businesses involved in the marijuana industry,” Haughton told the Jamaica Observer.

Past errors, he explained, included an over-reliance on points of reference beyond Jamaica’s borders.

“Whereas the basic draft of the amendment of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2015 was considered a reasonable starting point, Jamaica’s indigenous experience was partially overlooked in favour of the foreign reference, for example Canada and Colorado,” said Haughton.

Going forward, he said, all stakeholders must work together to clarify inconsistencies in the legislation and its implementation.

“These stakeholders should be the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Labour, CLA (Cannabis Licensing Authority), transitional farmers, sacramental farmers, research and development, dispensary operators, licensed farmers, and the Ganja Growers and Producers Association,” said Haughton.

He is also president of the St Mary Ganja Growers and Producers Association which represents more than 50 licensed members as well as a number of unregulated ganja farmers.

In addition to the changes taking place in the US, Haughton sees the October 28 passage of Hurricane Melissa as another chance for the ganja industry to move forward.

“Hurricane Melissa devastated the majority of the farms. It has provided an opportunity, in the reconstruction process, for all the stakeholders coming together to set our house in order so that if and when reclassification takes effect we can have a solid foundation on which to go forward and build what we all wanted in the outset: a lucrative marijuana industry. Both Hurricane Melissa and this announcement are opportunities for us to retool our local industry to define and refine our system to make sure we are creating a rebuff to those who want to take advantage of these new arrangements,” said Haughton.

He anticipates that recent developments in the US may make the local cannabis market more attractive for foreign investors and he is urging local stakeholders — including the legal fraternity and the police — to step up to the challenge.

He is cautiously optimistic that, if they play their cards right, local players can also benefit from the Trump Administration’s attempt to expedite the reclassification of cannabis as a Schedule III drug, which is less restrictive than those listed in Schedule I. The move is in a bid to ease federal barriers to medical research. The order does not seek to legalise recreational use nationwide.

“This is significant, [but] we ought to be cautious of our enthusiasm towards his announcement and what it means in terms of our economy and our regime that we have and the systems we have,” said Haughton.

Developments in the US are also being closely watched by industry players such as Medicanja Limited, which bills itself as the country’s first medical cannabis research and development (R&D) company and says it has 11 products which are approved by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Chief operations officer Andray McKenzie noted that after a decade in business he still sees major gaps in local R&D and product development.

“[Approval to conduct] R&D should be a right [that comes with] all licences and [additional approval] should only be necessary if the entity does not have a licence from one of the other categories,” he urged.

McKenzie strongly believes that without progress in these areas the United States will reap most of the benefits from reclassification whenever it comes into effect.

— Ingrid Henry

MCKENZIE… spoke of the importance of strong channels for research and development