BUDGET 2016: Government keen on legal marijuana industry locally – Shaw

The Jamaican Government is looking to bring significant benefits to the country through the establishment of a legal marijuana and hemp industry to help generate significant economic growth nationally, says Finance Minister Audley Shaw.

"Jamaica cannot afford to miss this boat. Where there is no vision, the people perish, so we must change our mindset and get ready for success. We must be bold while ensuring we meet all of our international obligations," declared Shaw while opening the 2016-2017 Budget Debate in Parliament on Thursday.

The minister, who displayed his “less than two ounces” of hemp in the House, said he would be leading by example in his North East Manchester constituency, where he has been taking steps to prepare farmers for legitimate participation in the marijuana industry and to establish extraction facilities to process and create value-added products.

"We will build an industry in Jamaica where we process and manufacture value-added products and not export raw materials. This is about an opportunity for small farmers who will now earn from land which is presently sitting idle," Shaw said.

This he said could position Jamaica “as the medical tourism capital for the world, bringing health and wellness to the world", noting that the country is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in the medical marijuana industry.

Importantly, he said the country "must move with a sense of urgency and turn ganja which has been a negative for Jamaica into a major asset creating wealth for our country."

The finance minister, pointing to the American market for legal marijuana, which he said is predicted to rise from US$6.7 billion in 2016, to US$21.8 billion by 2020.

Canada too, he said, "has built a major industry which is opening up for full legalisation next year,” while, “The Dutch Ministry of Health is exporting medical marijuana to Canada, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic,” added Shaw.

He noted too that Israel, which is the largest recipient of United States aid, “has over 12,000 medical marijuana patients, and is leading the world in research on medical marijuana."