The Cabinet, on Wednesday, approved a number of cannabis cultivation licences recommended by the Medical Cannabis Authority, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on radio on Thursday.
Gonsalves said that the authority made the recommendations after examining some of the applications thus far and conducting due diligence.
He said that the authority, through its chief executive officer, Jerrol Thompson and Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar would provide the details.
“But I just want to indicate that for traditional cultivators, 21 licences which were recommended have been approved, eight of them is for groups and these eight groups have between them about 100 persons, I’m told — roughly, approximately,” Gonsalves said on Star FM, his party’s radio station.
He said that the lands are located Peter’s Hope, Mt Bentinck, Richmond Estate, Rose Hall, Mt Grennan, Orange Hill, and Grace Field in South Rivers.
There are also individual traditional cultivators.
There are 13 others at Langley Park, Palmyra in Rose Hall, Belle Isle, Old Garden, Belmont, Greiggs, Byera, Degro in Rose Hall, Fitz Hughes, Belmont, Richmond, Biabou, Mt Wynne, and Pasture, Mesopotamia.
He said there are three nationals who have been granted traditional licences who are not traditional cultivators.
One of them has lands in Chapmans and two others in Grace Field, in the South Rivers area.
Ten companies have been registered that are owned, in the majority, by non-nationals, and some of them have nationals involved with them.
The prime minister said they have licences ranging from class A through to E, with E being the most expensive.
He said there are three companies with Class E licences and one with Class A, two Class B licences, 2 Class D’s, two Class C’s.
“So those entities will be informed and those individuals but I am sure that the minister and Jerrol Thompson would provide the details. Just to indicate that the process is ongoing.
“The paper work, applications and the checking out and the due diligence and all those things was an exhaustive process and took a fair bit of time,” he said. He said that a Class A licence costs a non-national EC$100,000 and allows for cultivation of up to one acre of land and is valid for one year.
Class B is two years duration and cost EC$250,000.
Class C is up to 25 acres and cost EC$500,000 and is of three years’ duration.
Class D is for up to 100 acres and cost EC$1 million. The licence is valid for four years.
A class E licence cost EC$2.67 million (US$1 million) and lasts for five years.
In addition, each of them has to pay upfront, in the first year, an EC$250,000 food security authorisation fee “so that we can use that money to help to strengthen our food security, because we could grow ganja but we can’t eat ganja,” the prime minister said.
How times have changed, there was a time here when individuals went to prison for growing the weed no so any more and with all this Cannabis mania about the country coupled with our Government and people’s desire to make money from cannabis, no thought is being given to those individuals that are suffering harmed from this product.
The weed in the UK however is being looked at very differently. According to recent reports, “Cannabis should not be prescribed for medical reasons because there is no strong evidence it is safe, MPs in the UK have warned. They have called for ‘robust research’ into medical cannabis to fill ‘major gaps’ into whether it causes any long term damage”.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7208251/Cannabis-not-routinely-prescribed-no-strong-evidence-safe-MPs-warn.html
[In recent years in the UK there has been a series of shocking killings committed by cannabis users who had developed psychosis due to their use of the drug. They often become delusional and hear voices
Cannabis-induced psychosis has reached crisis levels in the UK, forcing their National Health Service to open its first clinic specifically for treating addicts of the mind-altering drug.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7196735/NHS-forced-open-Britains-clinic-cannabis-psychosis.html
Dr Marta Di Forti, one of the principal doctors at the clinic, based at the South London England and Maudsley National Health Service England foundation trust, said: ‘This is a crisis of high potency cannabis that we can simply no longer ignore .‘This clinic is now responding to that crisis.]
As we here in SVG ignore the dangers posed by cannabis are we to be saddled with an epidemic of mad people walking our streets? We sure will not be able to cope with any epidemic of Cannabis-induced psychosis!
Reviewing these events of the government Ganga licencing and taking into account the British experience of the following regrettable incident in the UK, is this a sign of things to come for us?
“Train-rage killer was schizophrenic cannabis-addicted gangster with 30 convictions who psychiatrist had ruled was NO DANGER to himself or others – just 24 hours before he stabbed father 18 times in front of his son, 14.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7241017/Man-GUILTY-murdering-father-stabbed-son-Surrey-train.html
Is our Government playing fast and loose with this Ganga menace vis-à-vis our already suffering communities, because of their lack of good economic policies that could develop our economy and put food on our empty tables?
What a shame that we too cannot see through the spurious rhetoric!
So what do you have to say about the people that use the stuff for years.
SVG DESCENDS TO TOTAL DEGENERACY.
A most degenerate decision if ever there was one. SVG HAS LOST ITS WAY.
There are NO STATESMEN any longer in SVG or the Caricom region.
As a systematic participant observation enthusiast in SVG and the Caribbean for
many, many years, I have personally observed, noted, and grieved over
the horrific detrimental and deleterious effects of MARIJUANA and other [formerly] illicit drugs
on VINCENTIAN youth and children.
We are embarking on creating a class or generation of actual ZOMBIES in this country.
I have seen first-hand, over the years, the ABSOLUTELY DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF
GANJA USE AND EVEN ASSOCIATED SIDESTREAM GANJA SMOKE ON THE YOUTH
AND CHILDREN OF THIS YOUNG NATION. As to the future of this perverted, degenerate,
policy – – –
“HEAVEN HELP US ALL !” [a la Stevie Wonder].
The brain-dead politrickans have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE as to HOW TO DEVELOP
THIS COUNTRY, and regIon, SO THE ONLY ‘THING’ THEY COULD COME UP WITH IS “POT”.
HURRAY! St. Vincent goes to “POT” !!!
SVG, every nation or State is the CREATOR OF ITS OWN DESTINY. For BETTER, or for WORSE.
HAIROUNA, the PRICE of FREEDOM from SLAVERY, DRUG-DEPENDENCY,
AND COMMUNIST OVERTHROW, is ETERNAL VIGILANCE !
QUO VADIS ! WHITHER GOES THOU, SVG ?!
Ah wey arwe ah go ??? Ah wey arwe ah go do ???
Almighty GOD PROTECT THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines.
Because, OUR self-serving POLITICIANS aren’t, and WOULDN’T.
Whatever your decision or (re-)direction, my fellow Vincentians – – –
“S.V.G. : PEYI NOUS TOUT”.
But, always remember: JUST SO YOU MEK UP YUH NATIONAL BED – – –
JUST SO YUH GO LIE DOWN ‘PUN IT !
Even the Holy Scriptures caution us that: A NATION REAPS WHAT-SO-EVER IT SOWS !
Welcome to today’s degenerate world of FORCE-FEEDING MARIJUANA TO THE YOUTH.
All FOR THE SAKE OF CAESAR’S IMAGE – – – the ‘almighty’ dollar.
Dem WORSHIP THE DALLAR – – – yes, especially the AMERICAN DOLLAR !!!
SLAVERY NEVER DONE!
A Bunch of PUSSYLLANIMOUS NINCOMPOOPS !!!
SVG calypso king, THE MAN AGE (Errol Rose), NOT SO LONG AGO, faithfully confided to us, nationally, in SVG : “DEM POLITICIANS SMOKING IT, TOO !”
HISTORY WILL CONDEMN THESE DESPICABLE POLITICIANS THAT ARE MISLEADING
OUR NATION OF SVG TO POT.
Just so you sow, that shall you reap. Where went COMMON SENSE, and RATIONAL THINKING ?
These political misleaders are racing toward making SVG, our once beloved “Hairouna” – – – now – – –
‘The Home of THE CURSED !”
Time will tell.
Always,
Steve Huggins.
Teacher, Coach,
Youth Development Worker.
Why not give a license for every abusive substance every Godless evil thing is acceptable ib this satani2 system Christian st Vincent and the grenadine wake up and stand up we are right at the end