Opposition Spokesperson on Industry, Investment & Global Logistics, Anthony Hylton, is disputing the reported claim made by Industry Minister Aubyn Hill that cannabis being imported from Canada into Jamaica is for research purposes.

Hylton labelled the comment reportedly made on radio by Hill as “dubious” at best.

“The unusually large quantities of flowered cannabis imported into the Island, reported to be around 140 kg in total, is far larger than the typical research quantity, which is around 1-5 kg of cannabis,” Hylton said in a release.

Continuing, the Opposition spokesperson explained that “the more successful dispensaries sell about 15 kg of cannabis per month. So the imported quantities are large, even for commercial purposes, and would represent an abuse of the Research & Development (R&D) licence even if that was the licence approved by the Cannabis Licence Authority ( CLA) for the importation of the cannabis.”

Hylton is calling for the fulsome and immediate release of the details relating to the ganja imported from Canada by Minister Hill, “rather than in the dribs and drabs that the information has been coming to the public,” he said, arguing that confidence in the CLA and the ministry is being undermined.

OBSERVER ONLINE first reported the growing unrest among local ganja farmers after news emerged that a licence has been granted to a company to import Canadian cannabis into Jamaica.

READ: Jamaican ganja farmers outraged after licence granted to import Canadian herb

Speaking inside the ‘Jamaica Cannabis Industry Forum’ WhatsApp group, President of the Jamaica Cannabis Licensed Association, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, asked growers to figuratively “holster [their] weapons and keep [their] powder dry”, noting that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) was aware of the ire created within the local industry following the latest development.

“I learnt and later confirmed that the CLA Board has approved the importation of ganja into Jamaica from Canada. A licensed (sic) applied for & was granted the necessary permits. I will not fault the licensee but I find it disturbing & indeed scandalous that we could allow imports from a state to which we cannot export,” Lewin wrote.