The government of Dominica is expected to put forward legislative changes that would give rise to the development of a legal cannabis industry within the country.
Following the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) (Amendment) Bill in 2020, “the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica received approval for the amendment of the drug (prevention of misuse) act chapter 40:07 which decriminalizes the possession and use 28 grams or 1 ounce of genus cannabis”, as reported on the Dominica Government Information Service.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit addressed listeners last week on the state-owned DBS radio, announcing that “this year’s budget to provide permits and licenses for people who are in the production of marijuana oils, creams and lotions, and soaps because we recognize that there are a number of Dominican citizens who are suffering from cancer and who use the marijuana oil to bring some relief to them.”
Continuing, Prime Minister Skerrit said that there are “many testimonies of it working, so we are in the process of putting the mechanism in place and certification of that which will also involve providing certificates for growers, farmers to be able to plant and grow this marijuana”.
Additionally, citing a partnership program the Dominica government has undertaken with their Canadian counterparts, the Prime Minister revealed that the country had received support in drafting legislation, pertaining to the exportation of medical cannabis.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the new cannabis laws passing through the Dominica legislature without a hitch, saying: “I believe come next year we will certainly be in a position to pass this legislation and to have a full fledged cannabis industry in Dominica so we can take advantage of the numerous opportunities where cannabis is concerned”.
Providing the new raft of cannabis legislations pass through government, Dominica will become the latest country in the Caribbean to embrace the legal cannabis industry. In recent months, there have been progressive cannabis policies pushed forward in St. Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Additionally, governments from Jamaica, Bermuda and Barbados have also taken steps forward in recent years to increase cannabis education and formally legalize certain uses of the plant.
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