Jamaican authorities eye expansion into medical cannabis

19-Sep-2019 - Last updated on 19-Sep-2019 at 12:06 GMT

The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), of Jamaica, has moved to raise the number of conditional approvals for medicinal cannabis, which includes applications for consumer products such as beauty and personal care.

Since 2015 the CLA has issued 44 licenses for medicinal cannabis and 288 conditional approval as the island nation makes moves to carve out a slice of the fast-growing global medical cannabis industry.

Speaking at a conference in the country’s capital, Kingston, earlier this month, the president of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Diane Edwards, said that the licenses so far granted including 21 for cultivation, 13 for retail, six for processing and three for research and development.

Jamaica well placed to expand into medical cannabis

Edwards said that the licenses issued with conditional approvals included those waiting for pre-license approval, site inspections and funding to satisfy the requirements necessary for full approval.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the CanEx Jamaica Business Conference, Edwards stated that Jamaica was well placed to capitalize on the fast-growing market for medical cannabis and that JAMPRO wanted to support efforts to that aim.

The CanEx Conference and Expo is to be held at the Montego Bay Convention Center from September 25 to 26 and will include an exhibition lounge with exhibitor booths, as well as a three day program covering areas such as cultivation, CBD extraction, regulation and marketing issues, as well as investment opportunities.

Helping Jamaican businesses to get involved

Edwards and her team want to tie in JAMPRO’s aims to expand the medical cannabis industry in Jamaica with the CanEx event, in the hope that it will further serve to help encourage new businesses to flourish in this area in Jamaica.

“Medical cannabis is set to be a disrupter in the consumer goods space,” Edwards is quoted as saying by the Caribbean Chronicle during the event.

“More and more, we are finding CBD [Cannabidiol] infused products globally – in packaged food, beverages, beauty and personal care products and consumer health products.”

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