The Medicinal Cannabis (R)evolution

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2.0 ECONOMIC RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING THE INDUSTRY

The rationale for development of the medicinal cannabis industry in the ECCU is multifaceted, and has included economic, health and social justice factors. Specifically, the potential economic benefits have been one of the main motivations for the region’s legalisation drive. The cultivation of cannabis is expected to be a boon for the agricultural sector and for regional farmers. The ECCU agricultural sector has experienced significant structural challenges in the past three decades. During this time, the agricultural sector witnessed a declining share of GDP, from approximately 10 per cent in the 1980’s to approximately 3.5 per cent in 2018 (see Figure 2). These challenges were further compounded by the effects of the global financial crisis, which adversely affected a number of other sectors. These events resulted in significant job losses, continued fiscal deficits and mounting debt among a number of the ECCU’s member governments. While the fiscal situation has improved since the crisis, unemployment has remained an intractable challenge for many ECCU member states; estimated at above 20.0 per cent for Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines (James et al., 2019). In response to some of these ongoing economic challenges, policy-makers have sought to consider alternative economic strategies, through the development of new industries, such as the budding medicinal cannabis industry, to help revitalise growth and employment.

ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES The agricultural sector is considered one of the most promising areas for the development of the medicinal cannabis industry. Global medical tourism trends indicate a market of significant size with exponential growth in the coming years due to aging, the incidence of chronic diseases and rising healthcare costs – which may augur positively for the burgeoning sector.