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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat stated through a preliminary report that using marijuana for medical purposes can help improve the region’s economy. Political leaders from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations will discuss the issue in July, looking into the possibility of developing a regional medical marijuana industry.
According to the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Task Force, the administration of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is expected to make progress on this matter within the next four months. During a meeting at the University of West Indies, the task force came up with a 12-point program proposal, which indicates that the Jamaican government’s first step should be to remove “all criminal convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana.”
However, Saint Lucia’s government has stressed that it is very important for CARICOM to undertake a regional approach to the marijuana legislation. “The movement of citizens across countries within the region makes it difficult to deal with the decriminalization of marijuana on an individual basis,” said Dr. Kenny Anthony, prime minister of Saint Lucia.
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune.
