A Jamaican company called Timeless Herbal Care has just shipped the first-ever consignment of a medicinal cannabis preparation from the Caribbean island nation to Canada \u2014 initially for testing and analysis by Ottawa\u2019s health authorities. Sales through the Canadian government to medical users is the anticipated next step.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the first test shipment to create a pathway from Jamaica to Canada,\u201d Courtney Betty, CEO of Kingston-based\u00a0Timeless Herbal Care<\/a>, told\u00a0Marijuana Business Daily<\/a>. \u201cWe think that, with the shortage of medical cannabis in Canada, Jamaica is going to be a great option. We\u2019ve built our company on a model over the past five years in preparation for the Canadian opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement came on Sept. 27 from the official\u00a0Jamaica Information Service<\/a>.\u00a0The\u00a0Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries\u00a0stated that the shipment of \u201cmedical marijuana extracted oil\u201d was authorized through an import permit issued by\u00a0Health Canada<\/a>. It noted that Timeless Herbal Care is producing under the auspices of Jamaica\u2019s new\u00a0Cannabis Licensing Authority<\/a>. The statement asserted, \u201cThe shipment marks the first step in positioning Jamaica as the medical marijuana hub for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Timeless Herbal Care\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0its first harvest in February, calling it a \u201cmilestone [that] further distinguishes the company as the leading trailblazer in the development and advancement of the medical marijuana industry in Jamaica.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u00a0website boasts<\/a>\u00a0\u201cpartnerships and affiliations\u201d with Kingston\u2019s\u00a0University of West Indies<\/a>, New York\u2019s\u00a0Mount Sinai Hospital<\/a>, Denver-based cannabis products distributor\u00a0Organa Brands<\/a>, and\u00a0Ziggy Marley<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 son of reggae legend Bob Marley.<\/p>\n In June, Jamaica\u2019s Industry & Commerce Minister Audley Shaw traveled to Canada to cement the deal, and upon his return, held a meeting with Jamaica\u2019s traditional agricultural leaders. The\u00a0Jamaica Observer<\/a>\u00a0reported that he urged cultivators of traditional crops like sugar to consider switching to \u201cganja.\u201d He noted that some 15,000 hectares of the 18,000 hectares controlled by parastatal\u00a0Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings<\/a>\u00a0are currently idle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is time for us to take a different view of cannabis, starting with medical cannabis,\u201d Shaw told the business leaders at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston. \u201cIf you are offended by recreational cannabis, stay away from that and focus on medical marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaw said he is aware of the \u201cnegative stigma\u201d associated with cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the world is moving on, and if we are not careful the world is going to leave us out\u2026 [T]he phenomenon of medical ganja is here and it is changing by the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jamaica\u2019s endearingly named\u00a0Ganja Law<\/a>\u00a0(more formally called the Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act) was\u00a0passed<\/a>\u00a0by the nation\u2019s parliament Feb. 6, 2015 \u2014 on what would have been\u00a0Bob Marley\u2019s 70th birthday<\/a>. It\u00a0went into effect<\/a>\u00a0on April 15 of that year.<\/p>\n The Ganja Law stops short of full legalization, but combines a general decriminalization with a medical marijuana program \u2014 and a unique provision for sacramental use, as had long been demanded by Rastafarians. The law created the Cannabis Licensing Authority to oversee cultivation, sale and distribution for medical, spiritual and industrial purposes.<\/p>\n According to a\u00a0break-down of the law provided by the\u00a0Jamaica Observer<\/a>, possession of up to two ounces is no longer a criminal offense, while possession for approved medicinal purposes or for scientific research is legalized. Each household is permitted to legally cultivate up to five plants. Public smoking remains prohibited \u2014 except in establishments licensed to allow cannabis use for medical or therapeutic purposes. The Health Ministry has established a\u00a0Medicinal Cannabis Unit<\/a>\u00a0to oversee the program. It officially discourages smoking in favor of extracts \u2014 although edibles are prohibited.<\/p>\n Followers of the Rastafarian faith (over the age of 18) are also permitted to smoke for sacramental purposes in specially designated locations. Unfortunately, Jamaica has been\u00a0scolded by the United Nations<\/a>\u00a0for allowing sacramental use.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/b>\u00a0do you think there should be a global cannabis market?<\/p>\n The post Jamaica Begins Exporting Medical Marijuana Products to Canada<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Jamaican company called Timeless Herbal Care has just shipped the first-ever consignment of a medicinal cannabis preparation from the Caribbean island nation to Canada \u2014 initially for testing and analysis by Ottawa\u2019s health authorities. Sales through the Canadian government to medical users is the anticipated next step. \u201cThis wasContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[984,34,50,3514,1521,900,139,81,6025,6123],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29836"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29837,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29836\/revisions\/29837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cannabis Industry Overcomes \u2018Stigma\u2019\u00a0in Jamaica<\/h4>\n
Exports Made Possible By the Ganja Law<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Jamaica Begins Exporting Medical Marijuana Products to Canada<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"