CLA Facilitating Import And Export Of Cannabis As It Awaits Regulations

The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) has put in place protocols to facilitate the import and export of cannabis by licensees, as it awaits promulgation of the Dangerous Drugs (Cannabis Import and Export Licensing) Regulations 2020.

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF), Hon. Floyd Green, said that the third draft of the regulations has been reviewed by the Ministry and submitted to the Ministry of Justice.

He said that both Ministries have been working closely to implement the regulations.

“These protocols, the ‘Interim Measures – Importation of Cannabis’ and the ‘Interim Measures – Export of Cannabis’ can be found on the CLA’s website,” he noted.

“For over a year, the CLA has facilitated exports using these protocols. Over this period, several licensees have taken advantage of these interim measures and have exported cannabis and its extract (oil),” Mr Green added.

Some of the countries to which cannabis has been exported are Canada, Australia and the Cayman Islands.

Chief Executive Officer of the CLA, Lincoln Allen, said the CLA readily facilitates the export of cannabis and its extracts by its licensees once it is satisfied that the licensee has met all the requirements of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 protocol.

When the import/export regulations are promulgated, Jamaica will be one of 10 countries in the world with an export regime.

The CLA is an agency of the MICAF that was established in 2015 under the Dangerous Drug (Amendment) Act (DDA) with a specific role to establish and regulate Jamaica’s legal cannabis and hemp industry.

Source: JIS