The Jamaican government has announced plans aimed at bringing hundreds of indigenous and traditional farmers into the country’s promising medical cannabis industry.
On January 14, the government announced plans to aggressively expand the country’s Alternative Development Programme, which provides farmers with the technical and financial support they need to enter the legal cannabis industry, with the aim of eliminating the illicit cultivation of cannabis. At the same time, officials announced a transitional licensing regime that would waive fees and dramatically reduce the cost these farmers face upon entry into the industry.
The moves, according to Floyd Green, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries, mark a shift in the regulatory framework governing the cannabis industry on the island, where the introduction of long-awaited import and export regulations are also expected before the end of the island’s fiscal year in March.
“What we will be doing in 2020, is looking for more community groups of traditional growers that we will engage and provide the technical support for them to transition into the medicinal marijuana industry,” Green said, addressing the House of Representatives on January 14.
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