The Medicinal Cannabis (R)evolution

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

The use of cannabis for medical and therapeutic purposes remains a highly controversial but important subject of public policy and scientific interest. The recent surge in interest in the therapeutic use of cannabis has been due in part to legislative developments in several countries, which have helped to reinforce medicinal cannabis as a part of the future global economy. Given this growing significance, the policy implications of this budding industry for member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) warrant serious consideration. The ECCU took a significant step towards the development of a medicinal cannabis industry in December 2018, when St Vincent and the Grenadines became the first member country to legalise medicinal cannabis, with the passage of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act 2018 and the Cannabis Cultivation (Amnesty) Act 2018. As at July 2019, the majority of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act 1 was enacted in St Vincent and Grenadines and the other parts are expected to come into effect subsequently. Antigua and Barbuda also enacted its Cannabis Act to regulate the use of cannabis for economic and religious purposes. The enactment of this legislation in Antigua and Barbuda followed decriminalization, which occurred in March 2018. Meanwhile, a number of other member governments are deliberating the possibility of legislating medicinal cannabis, including St Kitts and Nevis, which tabled a draft Cannabis Bill in its National Assembly in May 2019 and passed the Cannabis Bill 2020 in the Federal Parliament on 12 February 2020 as a precursor to its legislative reform. These reforms are the first steps in what the region hopes will result in the development of a lucrative medicinal cannabis industry.

1 As at May 2019, Parts I, II, III, IV, V and VI had been enacted.