Puerto Rico is about to welcome medical marijuana to the island.  The action, by executive order, could have potential economic benefits for the debt-ridden country. But it’s also recalling memories  of colonial exploitation.

Drug policy activist Rafael Torruella, who is based in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, worries the budding industry will mirror other industries on the island, where foreign investors reap most of the economic reward.

At this point, no medical marijuana is being grown on the island and no dispensaries have been authorized.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –  Puerto Rico's governor has called for the legalization of marijuana during his last public address as leader of the U.S. territory.

Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Monday that taking such action would lower crime and target hypocrisy. He said legislators should at a minimum approve a bill filed in 2013 that would decriminalize marijuana. Puerto Rico's Health Department recently adopted a regulation allowing the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of medical marijuana.

A joint between his lips, toes in the sand, Mike Martin looked like just another dude chilling on the beach in Puerto Rico. But as the 47-year-old Rastafarian blew smoke in my direction, he outlined his vision of justice: legal weed in the US territory.

"Legalization is coming," Martin told me. "The last several days have made that clear."

Puerto Rico is now among the many states in the Latin America which have adopted the use of marijuana in medicine.

According to Puerto Rico's Public Affairs Secretary Jesus Manuel Ortiz, as per Fox News Latino, the whole system is slated to be implemented by the end of this year. The country's health department announced Thursday that it will be implementing a "seed-to-sale inventory tracking system."

Puerto Rico’s Health Department has adopted a regulation that will allow for the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of medical marijuana in the U.S. territory.

Officials say the substance can be used in forms including pills, creams, patches and oral drops. Authorities stress that smoking marijuana and cultivating it for personal use remains illegal.

The Health Department said Thursday that it will implement a seed-to-sale inventory tracking system. It will also award licenses to doctors and to private companies that seek to cultivate and manufacture medicinal marijuana. Officials say samples must be sent to independent labs to ensure they contain the correct amounts of THC and are free of contaminants.

Government of Puerto Rico could raise between $ 50- $ 100 million received by taxing cannabis use

The medicinal use of cannabinoids derived from Puerto Rico could represent an increase in government revenue through excise taxes on the sale, job creation in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, clinical research, production of plants, and others exhibited in the printed version of the Puerto Rican Journal of Medicine and Public Health (MPH) Mario Jordi Maura Perez, Department of Finance, School of Business Administration at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras.

Puerto Rico is relaxing prosecution against first-time offenders found with marijuana for personal use in the U.S. territory.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order on Monday stating that those found with six grams or less of marijuana could face only a fine, community service or rehabilitation. He said the island's justice secretary will make that decision on a case-by-case basis.

Garcia noted that the Department of Corrections spent nearly $2.3 million in December on those accused of marijuana possession, adding that public funds would be better spent elsewhere fighting violence and other more severe drug offenses.

DigiPath Labs Provides Insight on Proposed Puerto Rico Medical Cannabis Law

The Government is preparing to begin under strict security structure

The cultivation of cannabis plants in Puerto Rico for medical and research uses is scheduled to begin in early 2016, through a process regulated by the departments of Health and Agriculture, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), and federal laws and local laws.

Planting plants "cannabis sativa" and "cannabis indica" both on land and in hydroponic systems, the initial wheel will move the new public policy on marijuana in Puerto Rico.

The crop would be the responsibility of self government of the island and / or duly authorized private farmers. In regard to government level, they have not yet selected the land where the crops would be developed, the USDA said.

The Puerto Rican economy is in trouble, going through a recession and dealing with about $70 billion in total outstanding debt. The commonwealth paid only $628,000toward a $58 million debt bill due Monday to creditors of its Public Finance Corporation. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla is desperately trying to come up with a restructuring plan to eliminate the debt.

Just how bad is it? People are leaving the island in search of a better life elsewhere. In fact, unemployment in Puerto Rico is more than double the rate in the mainland United States. Three thousand doctors have moved out in the last five years, as have many other professionals headed to the U.S. to earn a better living.