Cannabis Licensing Authority Stages Compliance Workshops

The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is hosting a series of workshops aimed at fostering compliance within the medical cannabis industry and to build relationships with licensees.

More than 30 stakeholders benefited from two workshops held in May and June. The sessions were focused on standardising inventory management methods and reporting, and to raise awareness about industry standards.

CLA’s Director of Enforcement and Monitoring, Faith Graham, said that the workshops are the organisation’s proactive approach to addressing non-compliance.

“Compliance is important for the success of the local cannabis industry and for the future of Jamaica in the global cannabis space. The workshops are not a lecture, but a learning experience for participants and the Authority,” she said.

Miss Graham said that inventory management is an integral part of the tracking and tracing of ganja from seed to sale.

As such, the workshops address difficulties experienced by licensees in the set-up, maintenance and presentation of inventory as required by the Dangerous Drugs (Cannabis Licensing) (Interim) Regulations, 2016.

Officer in the CLA’s Enforcement and Monitoring Division, O’Shane Douse, led presentations at both workshops, where he shared information about the global medical cannabis industry and the CLA’s role in the regulation of the local sector.

The enforcement officer identified diversion (movement of ganja from the legal to the illegal trade) and inversion (movement of ganja from the illegal to the legal trade) as the biggest threats to the industry.

“Diversion and inversion can cause harm to crop integrity and the industry as a whole,” he said.

He urged the participants to “employ safeguard mechanisms against these threats by adhering to the Authority’s security requirements and limiting trade within the closed-loop system”.

Using visual aids and multimedia, Mr. Douse, along with other members of the division, demonstrated the methods of preparing and maintaining inventory for all stages of the cultivation process.

Participants in the workshops were also given the opportunity to prepare and present inventory with the aid of the Inventory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in a simulation exercise.

The CLA has deemed the workshops conducted, so far, a success and noted that there will be more sessions this year.

“Based on the positive evaluation of the participants, the CLA is satisfied that the objectives of the workshops were met, as the discussions were not only fruitful, but the interaction served to build relationships with industry players,” said Miss Graham.

SOURCE: JIS