Regional governments have been called out for not moving sooner to decriminalise the use of the popular contraband, marijuana.

Political analyst Peter Wickham said the governments of Caribbean countries will not legislate that personal use of the drug becomes legal, unless they would stand to gain politically.

“Ultimately, in politics you would want to win an election and certainly your ability to win an election makes you a lot useful in terms of driving issues. If you believe policy will reward you electorally, then you will pursue and if you believe policy will make you unpopular, then you would not want to pursue it,” Wickham said.

There are many signs that some Caribbean countries may well develop into an Eldorado for cannabis and its consumers in the coming years. Read about the seven most important reasons here.

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is calling for a collective Caribbean approach regarding the trade and other benefits of marijuana cultivation in the region.

“We have to have the studies. That is why I advocated the Caribbean marijuana commission. In the changing global context of marijuana use, Caribbean economists and other relevant professionals, including those in the pharmaceutical industry, ought to be ahead of the curve in conducting relevant research, not rehearsing traversed territory,” Gonsalves said in an address to the launch of the 40th anniversary celebrations at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

SAN JUAN – Marijuana is the most-used drug among convicted and accused criminals in seven Caribbean countries, according to a new study from Jamaica’s National Council on Drug Abuse.

“The highest proportion was reported in Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the lowest proportion was in St. Kitts and Nevis, while Jamaica reported approximately 75 percent of inmates used marijuana,” NCDA Research Analyst Uki Atkinson said in a statement.

Conducted in 2014, the NCDA survey sought to explore the relationship between drugs and crime in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis.