ALTHOUGH cannabis imports remain temporarily suspended, Jamaica will eventually have to reopen its market to foreign ganja if it hopes to expand exports, the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has acknowledged, arguing that reciprocal trade is necessary to foster growth within the industry.

According to Dr Nadeen Spence, chairwoman at the CLA, while the agency understands the importance of first establishing a strong local market for traditional ganja farmers to thrive, true industry growth eventually requires the resumption of foreign imports.

“The important thing to note is that trading operates under the principle of reciprocity. So we can’t expect to always close the markets to people coming in but we want them to open their markets to us. So that is not a sensible trade practice to expect,” said Spence, who was speaking at a Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper’s head office in St Andrew.

The chairwoman was responding to questions on whether the authority would ever consider re-engaging foreign markets after the strong backlash it received in 2023 from industry stakeholders when a Canadian licensee was granted an importation licence to Jamaica, which resulted in the temporary disallowance of all such activity.

Frustrated stakeholders argued that the CLA granted market access to a foreign competitor ahead of local cannabis growers, while highlighting a lack of reciprocity, noting that Canada prohibited ganja imports from Jamaica.

The organisation was acting within its statutory authority under which Part II, Section (4) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which permits ganja importation and allows the CLA to grant import licences to holders of valid cultivation, processing, retail, or research and development licences.

Reflecting on the past grievance, Spence acknowledged that the outrage was understandable; however, she told editors and reporters that, as the industry grows, farmers and local producers must anticipate the introduction of foreign traders within the market.

“So, as we seek to export more, we are going to have to recognise that there are other people who are going to want to have access to our markets. We might not be there yet, but this is something that we have to start training our minds towards. We’re going to get there, but we have to build up the supply first,” she said.

Meanwhile, chief executive officer at the CLA Farrah Blake emphasised that the authority was only focused on expanding access to Jamaica’s traditional ganja farmers at this time.

“We have not allowed any further imports since…We have, maybe, 110 retail operators that are located in urban and tourist areas, mostly. The fact of the matter is that the industry is growing. So there really is no reason for us to ask for or to allow any further imports,” said Blake, who also pointed to the CLA’s special community permit and the Cultivator’s transitional Special Permit, which are programmes geared at widening access for small-scale farmers and encouraging more cultivation of marijuana.

Sharing her thoughts on the fallout that occurred years prior, she noted that pausing imports was in the best interest of farmers, telling the Observer that their stability within the local market was of utmost importance.

“We listen to our stakeholders, and we understand and appreciate that they want us to focus on the build-out of our own industry before starting to accept cannabis from another space.

“If we are growing ganja, we are growing ganja from the west, we are growing ganja from St Elizabeth and from St Ann at the same time. Why would we therefore need to import ganja again? Some people may say it’s for testing, but there is no real reason why we would need to import ganja at this time,” said Blake.