Photo caption: Traditional farmers, Dr. Emmanuel (third left) beside Robert Wright, Dr. Jerrol Thompson, and agriculture minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saboto Caesar pose for the symbolic handing over of the seeds

Principal investigator of Life Science Cannabis Group in the Department of Life Science, at The University of the West Indies Mona Campus, Dr. Machel Emmanuel, commended the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), in following in the footsteps of Jamaica with the establishment of a vertically integrated value chain industry, from seed to sale. He made this commendation last Saturday September 18, as he addressed a ceremony for the handover of cannabis seeds to the Medicinal Cannabis Authority for use by traditional growers. “Jamaica, St. Vincent [and the Grenadines] have always had cannabis as an indicator value species, and the word ganja in these two countries does have numerous connotations. It is not just a plant; it is a way of life; it is an expression; it is a culture,” Dr. Emmanuel said. He pointed to the relaxation of legislation by first-world countries, “due to medical persuasion, but in third world countries including the Caribbean, it has been slightly different. Restorative justice has been the motive, and economic stimulation.” Dr. Emmanuel, who is Vice-Chair of the Jamaica Bureau of Standards Cannabis Technical Committee, noted that the handing over of the seeds was the first movement in Caricom of cannabis germplasm, regarded as “a huge milestone in the development of the Caribbean cannabis economy”.