05/08/2021
G***a talks a must!
BCCI head sees potential economic gain for Barbados
by COLVILLE MOUNSEY
[email protected]
HEAD OF THE Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI), Anthony Branker, says the time has come for a serious discussion on the establishment of a recreational ma*****na sector.
He said this was especially timely given that the country was in search of serious economic drivers during these lean times.
The BCCI president said businesses in Barbados were still reeling from the combined impact of COVID-19, Hurricane Elsa and ash fall from the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent.
He said that with economies of Canada and California reaping dividends from the legalised recreational use of the drug, Barbados must seriously consider bringing those underground monies into the mainstream economy.
“What you are doing is bringing money from the underground into the mainstream and driving the wheels of the economy. I am saying that it is time that we have a discussion about it again. We know that the medicinal ma*****na is legalised but controlled by the Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA) and therefore any recreational use should be similar, where you have a regulatory body who issues and controls the persons who can distribute and retail. Persons can then purchase regulated quantities from licensed retailers,” said Branker.
Strong controls
Branker made it clear he was by no means advocating a free-for-all but rather the consideration of a system with strong governmental controls, much like the burgeoning medicinal ma*****na sector. He explained that the business sector had discussed the issue of recreational ma*****na during a webinar hosted by the BCCI last week.
However, head of the African Heritage Foundation, Paul “Ras Simba” Rock, said he was sceptical of any push from the business community to legalise recreational ma*****na, arguing that he foresaw a similar blueprint to that of the medicinal ma*****na sector, where traditional cultivators such as the Rastafarian community were perceived to be left out.
Rock said he was also concerned that a number of the strains of ma*****na in circulation were not fit for recreational purposes as some were likely to induce fits of rage, exacerbating this country’s crime problem.
He said any discussion on the issue must come with the assurance that the traditional farmers were guaranteed a fair share of the sector.
“Rastafarians are the custodians of the original cannabis strain and, yes, there is a concern that we would be left out of the economic gains that are to
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Concern over strains of genetically modified w**d
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be made with this sector. The masses have been left out of the medicinal cannabis framework and we are deeply concerned that the same thing would be done once the business sector pushes for the recreational side of things,” said Rock.
He also said the relevant authorities must be mindful of which strains they could consider for recreational purposes, as the plant had been genetically modified over the years with some producing extremely high yields of THC that could pose a danger to society.
“This new strain of cannabis called Kush (a pure or hybrid Cannabis indica strain) has a tendency to make young people angry and could potentially lead to violence. Some of the things that the young people are using is far different from what we know and use. I don’t use a number of these strains because they hurt my head. The unnatural manipulation of these plants raises the levels of THC and terpenes,” said Rock, noting that cannabis plant he grew up knowing would take as much nine months to mature, but now the new hybrids grow as quickly as six weeks.
Currently, the recreational cannabis sector in Canada had yielded up to $4 billion for the first five months of the year and Branker said these types of gains ought to be explored to determine the pros and cons.
“Right now, you have an illegal business operating on island, so right now there is a stigma attached to the whole idea of growing and the production behind it. So, a move to bring it in the mainstream will only serve to remove that stigma as you now have licensed growers. Look at it from the tourism perspective as well because you would now have a slew people who would want to come to Barbados not only because we have created a healthy COVID-19 environment, but you now have persons who can engage in a legal recreational activity that was previously something so stigmatised before. We can create ourselves as one of the leading countries in the world that could go that route,” he stressed.
