Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw
By Caribbean News Now contributor
KINGSTON, Jamaica – At the 2019/20 sectoral debate in the Jamaica House of Representatives on Tuesday, minister of industry, commerce, agriculture and fisheries, Audley Shaw, announced that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has approved 11 additional applications for licences in the medical cannabis industry. Meanwhile, farmers in Accompong, St Elizabeth, who are part of the government’s cannabis cultivation pilot project are preparing to harvest medical cannabis within four months.
Shaw noted that the CLA received 627 applications leading up to March 31. Thirty-three licences have been issued to date, 178 applications are at the conditional approval stage, preparing to pass CLA’s due diligence process and to receive their licences subsequently.
“CLA is contemplating amendments to the existing regulations, in keeping with the development of the local and global medical cannabis industry and will, in the near future, complete drafting instructions for regulations concerning import, export and transhipment, as we move to capitalize on the opening up of greater opportunities in the international space,” Shaw said.
