The Medicinal Cannabis (R)evolution

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Within CARICOM, Jamaica was the first country to take that important step towards legalization, when its legislature voted to amend the country’s laws in February 2015. Jamaica’s framework allows for the decriminalisation of small quantities of cannabis and has removed restrictions on cannabis for medicinal, scientific and cultural uses. The developments in medicinal cannabis are not confined to CARICOM, but have been evident globally. As at May 2019, more than 30 countries worldwide, and more than 30 US states (Lopez, 2019) had legalised cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. 2 Israel was one of the first countries to initiate this process. The country has allowed medical cannabis since 1973, but its industry only began to take shape in the 1990’s when a medical programme was developed. In 2001, Canada began granting access to patients to use medicinal cannabis under the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations. Within Latin America, Colombia regulated medicinal and scientific uses of cannabis in 2015 under a presidential decree, while Mexico legalised medicinal cannabis in 2017. Several countries in Europe have also legalised the use of medicinal cannabis in various forms, including the Czech Republic (2013), the Republic of Northern Macedonia (2016), Germany (2017) and the United Kingdom in 2018. Trends with respect to the full legalization of cannabis have been more gradual. Uruguay became the first country to fully legalise recreational cannabis in 2013 while a major step was taken by Canada in October 2018 when it became the first G7 nation to legalise recreational cannabis use. The latter move has been viewed by advocates as a harbinger for further global liberalisation. A key motivation for cannabis’ increasing popularity has stemmed from demand by patients, as they have sought more natural products to treat various health conditions. This has been accompanied by increasing research and anecdotal evidence on medical conditions to be treated by cannabis. Consequently, to date, medicinal cannabis is deemed beneficial for an increasing list of conditions (see Figure 1). 3 With the growing adoption of cannabis as a pharmaceutical product, ECCU member governments have recognised the health, economic and social benefits of this fast-growing industry.

2 This is not a homogenous group, as each country and/or state has its unique legislative framework for medicinal cannabis. 3 While patients exposed to medicinal cannabis have reported varying degrees of symptomatic benefit, benefits still require confirmation by good clinical science.