Director of the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), Delano Seiveright, on Saturday said that the cannabis licensing process, while challenging, is moving faster than what obtains in jurisdictions across the United States and Canada.

Seiveright, who is also a senior advisor in the Ministry of Tourism, was speaking at a packed venue at “Herb Cure”, a symposium featuring a panel of local and international ganja industry experts, which was one of the highlights at last weekend’s Rebel Salute music festival in Priory, St Ann.

The symposium reportedly allowed for access to clear information on developments pertaining to the issuing of licenses for medical, therapeutic and scientific purposes by the Cannabis Licensing Authority.

Nothing evokes passionate debate in the cannabis community like the threat of big business taking over. The arguments against big marijuana fill the internet. The heartfelt plea to preserve small farms is echoed throughout the US, Canada, and Jamaica. At the Marijuana Business Conference in Las Vegas last November there was even a debate dedicated to arguing which was better: Craft Cannabis vs Big Marijuana.

But this should never have been an either or statement. Is Big Business with Big Money going to jump in on the Marijuana Green Rush? Absolutely! Is that the beginning of the end of small craft farmers? Not in a million years!

Rastafari Inity, promoters of Rastafari Rootz Fest, Jamaica’s first ganja-exempt event, has indicated that next year, the third staging of the festival could be shifted from December to November.

The move is geared towards avoiding a clash with an established ganja event held annually in California. 

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has moved to assure members of the Rastafarian faith that their requests to transport ganja to be smoked as a religious sacrament will be granted expeditiously.

This follows a demonstration late last month by irate Rastafarians in front of the Barnett Street Police Station in the wake of the seizure by police of 10 pounds of the weed from a member of the faith.

“Where, unfortunately, a lot of you (Rastas) are getting into trouble is to get it (ganja) from where you buy it, or where you grow it, to the temple or to your home. You need an exemption. If you are going to transport it at all, just write me to get the exemption. I will approve it within hours,” the justice minister guaranteed.

The country with the biggest weed habit? That might surprise you.

A new report claims the UK government should legalise marijuana because it's “the only solution to crime and addiction problems”.

The strongly-worded study - titled The Tide Effect: How the World is Changing its Mind on Cannabis - was produced by the nonpartisan Adam Smith Institute and has the backing of several cross-party MPs including former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.

A new report claims the UK government should legalise marijuana because it's “the only solution to crime and addiction problems”.

The strongly-worded study - titled The Tide Effect: How the World is Changing its Mind on Cannabis - was produced by the nonpartisan Adam Smith Institute and has the backing of several cross-party MPs including former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg.

Cannabis is hugely popular. 182m people use cannabis across the world and, with this level of exposure, the way cannabis is regulated matters. As does the evidence of risks and benefits to health which underpins regulation.

Sometimes saying nothing is as telling as saying something. Silence can suggest retaining the status quo. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been silent about the international regulatory controls on cannabis since its inception in 1935. The past 80 years have brought dramatic advances in scientific knowledge about cannabis, so it is odd that it has not provided updated advice about its legal status. 

Although the United Nations international drug treaties have upheld an official prohibition against marijuana, the marijuana industry has spread across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

THE Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) expects to grant conditional licences by the end of the year for the growing and processing of ganja for medicinal and therapeutic purposes and research and development.

Chairman of the CLA Board, Hyacinth Lightbourne, told JIS News that the entity has received 89 applications.

Of the number, 25 are for cultivating ganja, 18 for processing, 14 are for research and development, eight for transporting, and the remainder are for retailing. 

The applications are now being processed. “After all the paperwork has been submitted, we have to evaluate the information given as well as conduct a thorough background check on the applicants,” Lightbourne pointed out.