Be Careful of Persons Who Claim They Can Assist with Applications – CLA

The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is advising current and potential clients to be cautious of persons claiming they can assist with application submission and other business processes of the Authority.

The call has come from Acting Senior Director of Operations, O’Shane Williams, who is reminding the public that “the CLA is the only agency mandated by law to process applications and issue licences”.

“Therefore, we are encouraging the public to engage us directly,” Mr. Williams emphasised.

Prospective applicants and existing clients are being encouraged to utilise the services of Client Facilitation Officers (CFOs) employed by the Authority to provide guidance and assistance, and should they engage with external consultants, caution must be exercised, particularly where there will be an exchange of funds.

According to Mr. Williams, “The Authority has made several institutional and operational improvements, making our processes more efficient and assistance more accessible.

“There is a perception that the processing times of the Authority are extremely lengthy, and while there might have been instances in the past where this was true, they have decreased significantly over the past year. The processing times for conditional approvals, export authorisations and tripartite agreements have decreased by 85, 34 and 82 per cent respectively,” he noted.

The Authority further advised that until the application process becomes fully digitised via the Jamaica Business Gateway, which is scheduled to be launched by the end of March 2023, all application forms can be accessed from its website.

Hard-copy forms may also be obtained by visiting the CLA offices on the fourth floor of the PanJam Building, 60 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5.

All completed application forms and supporting documents should then be dropped off at the CLA for thorough review of completeness, following which the applicant will be instructed on how to pay the application fee.

For further information regarding its processes, activities and other updates, persons may call (876) 654-7582 or send an email to info@cla.org.jm.

The Cannabis Licensing Authority is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, mandated to make and enforce regulations for licences, permits and authorisations for the cultivation, processing, distribution, sale and transportation of ganja, for medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes.

Source: JIS