Harvard Institute to assist Jamaica to become globally competitive in cannabis industry
MIIC Author

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, will meet with a team from the Harvard International Phytomedicines and Medical Cannabis Institute (IPI) to discuss assistance to Jamaica on how to become globally competitive in the cannabis industry.
The team is expected to arrive in the island from September 30 to October 2, and will conduct an “informational tour” of key facilities heavily involved in research related to cannabis and other medicinal plants.
“Through this partnership with Harvard IPI and the involvement, of course, of our own local universities, the opportunity exists for clinical trials to be conducted which will help in settling dosage issues, as well as the commercialization of products to be developed,” Mr. Shaw said.
“We anticipate that through this arrangement, Jamaica will have greater participation in the nutraceutical industry,” he added.
Mr. Shaw was addressing the opening ceremony of the 4th staging of the three-day CanEx Jamaica Business Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James on September 26.
Launched a few months ago in the United States with Minister Shaw in attendance, the Harvard IPI is focused on developing evidence-based phytomedicines for global health and economic development.
Its mission is to leverage the best science, technology and evidence from Harvard and partner institutions to convert potential high impact medicinal plants to evidence-based pharmaceutical grade products.
The three-day CanEx conference brings together industry professionals from 30 countries to address matters related to the legal cannabis industry. This include banking and finance, the business of cannabis, legal issues and advocacy, cannabis cultivation, technology, science and medicine.
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