We Need To Take The Cannabis Industry More Seriously

April 5, 2021 | Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie |

Cannabis Revolution Needed

The world has woken up to the realization that cannabis or ganja is the new gold. We have all read about the gold rush.  This breakthrough has revolutionized commerce then as ganja will today. The advent of the legalization of ganja has opened a new frontier for commerce. We had better grasp this new found opportunity before it passes us by like a bus at a bus stop waiting to go to work or to get home.

Edibles

We hear complaints that the authorities have been reluctant to give permission for local players in the Cannabis industry to trade in edibles.

The CLA

The Cannabis Licencing Authority (CLA) needs to wise up or wake up and smell the coffee.  We as a potentially important player could lose out on the real benefits to be accrued to us due to short or industry players not fully aware of the true benefits to be derived from full participation in all facets of this rather lucrative industry.  Biscuits, cakes, sweets and related products are being made with cannabis input and are being well received by the consuming public who want a high but may not want to smoke or imbibe the product in the raw sense. The market does get very sophisticated.

Coffee Parlours

There is a chain of coffee parlours popping up in Jamaica where Cannabis products are either consumed or offered to discerning customers who are usually of a higher spending bracket than the run of the mill old joe who is intent in just smoking the raw vegetable unprocessed product of say a bags worth which consist of a few grams a smoke and is peddled on street corners and by itinerant peddlers. Those are real small players.  Providing what you may say is hand to mouth existence.

New Thinking

The powers at be had better get up from their slumber and upgrade their thinking. Marcus Garvey did say:

 “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery”

This famous phrase or sentence was made very popular by The Honourable Robert Nesta Marley, ON.

It important that we grasp this opportunity to fulfil our dreams of full economic independence which can be best achieved when we may the best of our resources both natural and in any other form. Cannabis is grown easily in Jamaica. Our climate and soil suits this plant well. Jamaica is reputed to have one of, the if not the best variety in the world. In short we may be sitting on a gold mine and not getting the maximum benefits from this top class sought after commodity.

Public Information

It should be noted that the undersigned does not smoke nor use cannabis in any shape or form. This so call advocacy should not therefore be seen as promoting the cannabis industry.  This article should be seen as providing public information only. Full stop!

Commentary

Let us not wait on up North to dictate the pace at which we develop our cannabis industry.  They are gradually legalizing the use of the cannibals plant in a number of states. California, Florida, and Navada are believed to be states which have already legalized the use and sale of Cannabis for public consumption.

Jamaica

Cannabis has been decriminalized in Jamaica, but not legalized. When will this happen is the main obstacle why there is timidity by local authorities to expand more vigorously with regard to the development of the cannabis industry in Jamaica. The authorities do not want to get in the bad books of the US government. Cannabis is still codified as a dangerous drug by the US government officially. There is a gradual relaxing of the rules against cannabis use in the United States Of America (USA).

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is a poet, veteran journalist with international exposure.