Caribbean cannabis ready to hit the market

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the volcano La Soufrière erupted a month ago and has put the country on high alert, with the government ordering evacuations from communities flanking the volcano. La Soufrière last erupted in 1979 and while volcanic eruptions pose major threats to physical infrastructure, livelihoods and air quality, the deposition of ash and volcanic material form the island nation’s backbone and create fertile soils.

This enhanced soil fertility provides a silver lining for the volcanic island and its farmers, including Medicinal. Medicinal is an innovative cannabis producer focused on locally sourced and sustainable products from seed to sale. The company produces cannabis on its 11-acre farm located near Kingstown, which is on the island’s southern end whereas La Soufrière is in the northern region. The cannabis is then produced into various products.

Medicinal explained that while the volcanic eruption has minimally affected its crops due to its geographical location, they are hopeful for the future: “volcanic ashes are full of micronutrients and minerals; with time, these are incorporated into the soil which creates some of the most fertile farmlands for optimum growth of plants,” according to Marketing Manager Ella Ferdinand. 

The Retail Manager, Francesca Ferdinand, explained that Medicinal had planned to launch on 04/20 (April 20), the international marijuana holiday, but decided to postpone to concentrate on providing aid to the people who were displaced and in need.

The plants are first grown from seed or taken as a cutting, then raised in the greenhouse. Once the young plants are well established, they are progressed in their vegetative state then transplanted into the fertile volcanic soil. Further, the environmental conditions allow Medicinal to grow its plants quickly and well.

“There are amazing implications to growing cannabis in the Caribbean. We get sunlight 365 days a year and have amazing weather conditions from our greenhouses to fields and extraction facility. If you compare our buds to what you might buy illegally off the street, you’d see that ours are dense, luscious, green and fresh. Off the street, the buds are not as visually attractive and that is all because of the way the plant is handled after harvest,” explains Ella.

Ready to launch
Medicinal obtained its license in August 2019. The company is now nearly ready to launch its product line, which includes 20 different products ranging from THC rich smokable buds (i.e., flowers), pre-rolls and kief, as well as three formulated products that are available either in THC or CBD (THC free): lotions, tinctures and vapes. The THC vapes, lotions and tinctures are formulated in their state-of-the-art Extraction Facility. Medicinal’s chemists first extract the oil from the plants grown at their Home Farm and then formulate products that will suit the patients’ needs. Medicinal is offering the lotions and tinctures in different strengths. Further, Medicinal will sell six different vapes, with CBD vapes being disposable while THC vapes will be rechargeable.

Heightening the experience with mango
According to Francesca, many of the products are flavored with mangos also grown on the Caribbean island. Medicinal opted for mango flavoring partly due to the fact that mango grows locally, which is aligned with the company’s vision to source local materials wherever possible. The mangos are dried and the natural oils extracted to give the products a fruity flavor. Medicinal also flavors certain products with mango because of the longstanding history of mango consumption and cannabis consumption.

“There is a great history behind mangos and marijuana. In the region, people like to eat mangos while smoking because it heightened the senses and overall experience,” explains Francesca.

2021 and beyond
Medicinal plans to have its products available in pharmacies as of June 1st, 2021,kay and will also be launching its new website on the same day. This new website will include a virtual doctor that will prescribe medicinal cannabis to patients. According to Ella, Medicinal has two pharmacy chains who are ready to take on Medicinal’s products in six different stores. The company has also been organizing educational webinars and resources for doctors to improve understanding of cannabis’ medical properties and reduce the stigma around cannabis use.

Medicinal will expand its medicinal cannabis product line over the next few months. “We have been listening to the doctors’ expectations and we will be adding products that align with the local patients need,” Ella says. Capsules, e-liquid and balanced CBD:THC products are amongst the next products to be launched in 2021.

Medicinal is also eyeing the global market. In order to be able to attain it, Medicinal hopes to become GACP- and GMP-accredited in the near future, as the company already abides by most requirements listed in these standards. According to Ella, both the farm and drying facility are going through the accreditation process at the moment.

Finally, Medicinal is planning to release additional wellness products between summer and winter 2021, such as massage oils, face masks and bath salts. According to Ella, these products are being developed as part of the company’s mission to promote wellness and CBD use by a larger population.

“We really want to take the company from medical-based to mass market. But we love that we’ve started with the hardest part by tackling medical regulation. When we get to the mass market, we really will have a premium product,” says Francesca. 

Medicinal is hoping that the country’s regulatory body, the Medicinal Cannabis Authority will loosen the CBD regulations to facilitate market access.  At the moment, CBD needs to be prescribed by a licensed medical doctor, which does not align with the wellness product line.  As Francesca mentioned, “Countries all over the world have made CBD legal.  As soon as SVG does the same, we will have our wellness line ready. In the meantime, we will target International markets for this line.”