Amherst woman says Tory leader hopeful's story of their conversation a 'misrepresentation'.

An Amherst, N.S., business woman says she was misrepresented by Tory leadership candidate Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin when the politician recently referred to her during a debate at Province House.

While debating the Liberal government's bill related to cannabis, Smith-McCrossin, the MLA for Cumberland North, referred to her best friend in Amherst who is from Jamaica, in an attempt to make a point.

Rastafarian elder Ras Iyah V, the chairman of the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers Association, says he is against the provision of edible ganja products to patrons at locally staged ganja-related events.

"As it relates to ganja-related events, I am not in support of the provision of edibles to patrons. I reiterate, I am not in support of edibles," said Ras Iyah V, an executive member of the Cannabis Licensing Authority. "Reason being, most of the individuals who provide these products have little to no scientific knowledge about ganja, for example, the percentage of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the ratio of ganja used to the other ingredients in the preparation of these edibles."

The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce hired BOTEC Analysis to conduct research and make recommendations regarding regulations for medical cannabis and industrial hemp to help promote Jamaican economic development, investment, and local job growth, while protecting public health and safety. The Jamaica Government amended the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) in April 2015 to decriminalise cannabis possession and legalise home cultivation for medicinal, spiritual and sacramental uses.

What Is The Purpose Of The Report?

A special task force to inform the Tourism Ministry on using cannabis tourism for the promotion of the sector, is to be established.

Tourism Minister Edmud Bartlett said that although cannabis is still subject to Schedule I of the United States Controlled Substances Act – the most tightly restricted category reserved for drugs not currently accepted for medical use – the government is satisfied that the industry can benefit from the nutraceutical value of the drug.

“We are going to designate an area and, while I am not creating the policy, I am indicating that within that framework there is going to be discussions,” he said.

Pregnancy can be the most delightful period in any woman’s life, but it comes with its own challenges. Aside from the physical changes that occur in a woman’s body, she also goes through many emotional and mental changes before, during, and after pregnancy.

New mothers have to face extreme adjustments when getting ready for life with a newborn. There’s the lack of sleep, breast pain, and all the added responsibilities that are of course a joy for new parents. However, some mothers go through something much worse – in the form of postpartum depression.

Decades of debt are pushing Jamaica to cash in on its most famous exports, but small farmers fear losing out in the rush to market medicinal marijuana.

When Bob Marley and the Wailers first performed Get Up, Stand Up to a restive 1970s Jamaica, never could they have guessed that the government would be cashing in on their lyrics, their Rastafarianism and even their spliffs 40 years later.

Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), today said that all government ministries and agencies should work effectively together in building out a medical, therapeutic and scientific based cannabis industry while promoting a strong and balanced public education campaign that outlines both the benefits and risks associated with the plant.

“After the amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act in 2015, thereby allowing for the development of an industry, no stone should be left unturned in ensuring that it be made a reality. Several countries, including our neighbour the Cayman Islands, have rushed past Jamaica in an industry that Jamaica has a natural advantage”, said G2K Vice President, Edson  Carr.

April 20 is World Marijuana Day.

It's just over two years since Jamaica decriminalised small quantities. And Canada was set yesterday to announce what's likely to be a bolder experiment.

So what has changed, and what hasn't?

The big change in Jamaica is for small-scale users. Possession of up to two ounces is no longer a criminal offence. You can grow up to five plants at home. And smoking in public is a minor matter, with a fine equivalent to TT$25.

For perhaps a few hundred-thousand Jamaicans those reforms make a huge difference. They remove the daily risk of arrest, prison, a substantial fine—and a criminal record which blocks some employment or a US visa.

A foreign investor is expressing concern that Jamaica’s delay in establishing a medical ganja industry is providing other countries with the advantage to maximise from the opportunities to cement themselves in the export trade.

Florida-based investor Mark Santiago, who has applied to the Cannabis Licensing Authority for a licence to operate a vertically integrated ganja business, feels that the disunity in communication is a major hold-up in the industry.

“I believe that the foot dragging is because of our lack of communication,” Santiago argued.

He was speaking to the Jamaica Observer at the MoBay Invest Conference put on by the Montego Bay Chamber of Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Friday.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is to announce in his Sectoral Debate contribution in Parliament later this month, an enhanced public education campaign on drug use as new reports indicate that children, some under two years old, are turning up at hospitals with marijuana in their bloodstream.

Consultant paediatrician at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, Dr Tracy Evans-Gilbert, says she has had to treat children who ingested the drug that was sometimes left within their reach. 

There have also been reports that ganja is being added to some sweets which are then sold to students.

All these reports follow the 2015 liberalisation of Jamaica's drugs law which included the decriminalisation of the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana.