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Marks said that his company is interested in using marijuana to cure illnesses. (Internet photo)
Marks said that his company is interested in using marijuana to cure illnesses. (Internet photo)
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The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made EC$15 million from medical marijuana licences, three times more than anticipated in the first year.

Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, speaking at the Unity Labour Party’s rally, on Sunday, to celebrate its 25th anniversary said that he had asked Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar, last year, about his projections for the first year of the industry.

Gonsalves said Caesar told him that the industry had just started and he was anticipating about $5 million.

“Already this year, five million, we gone past that; 10 million, we gone past that; 15 million dollars Saboto Caesar has earned already in licence fees from the medical cannabis industry, and we are just getting started,” Gonsalves told the thousands of persons at the decommissioned ET Joshua Airport in Arnos Vale.

Gonsalves noted that Caesar had told the rally earlier that no traditional farmer will be left behind

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“Remember, before we came to office, the New Democratic Party used to let the Americans comes in here with their weed eaters and their planes to spray unknown chemicals all across St. Vincent and the Grenadines to burn out ganja,” Gonsalves said.

“We say no. We are going to form a modern medical cannabis industry in compliance with the law but taking advantage of our talented farmers, taking advantage of our fertile soils and bringing in revenue for people of SVG,” the finance minister said.

Speaking in Vermont last Friday, Jerrol Thompson, chief executive officer of Medical Cannabis Authority, said that the government has issued 15 major licences and over 240 traditional cultivators’ applications are being processed.

There are 10 groups involved in that grouping, encompassing over 140 members in those 10 groups. The companies are at different states of deployment.

Thompson spoke at the launch of Green Lava Labs, a medical marijuana company.

At the event, Thompson presented the company with the requisite document allowing them to begin planting marijuana.

Green Lava Labs has a class C medical marijuana cultivation license, which allows them to extract, import, export, dispense and cultivate up to 25 acres of cannabis.

8 replies on “SVG makes $15m from medical ganja licences”

  1. Urlan Alexander says:

    You mean to tell me that 1 Million gone missing already? The CEO of the Medical Canabis Authority said they make 16 million dollars and now the finance minister is saying 15 Million, something is not right here. A million dollars cannot disappear just so.

  2. Urlan Alexander says:

    Camillo is very disgusting in spinning the facts and that he is a very dangerous guy. His father was never in support of legalise marijuana cultviation and said so in parliament in 2015 when answering a question from Dr Linton Lewis a then Opposition Senator.

    Throughout the period of the ndp in office, witnessed a period when the world declared war on drugs. So for Camillo to come and behave as if the then NDP government was acting against drugs in a unilateral manner is a lie.
    It took almost 20 years for the ulp government to jump on the marijuana bandwagon and this they did after the atmosphere and attitude has changed towards marijuana. Science and technology were used to show that marijuana has medicinal use which hitherto was given a taboo like mentioned. Ralph as PM carried out the famous Vincy pac when he promised ” to pursue those vagabonds until they exist no more”, in reference to the guys in the hills who cultivate ganja. So Camillo you’re an upstart who needs to get your fact straight before you empty your unfounded and sordid rhetoric on the ndp. Stop fool the masses.

  3. The government making money off the same drugs they are locking up people for.
    .
    So the government can openly get into the drug trade ànd lock up its citizens for doing dealing with the same thing?

    What is wrong with that picture?

  4. We in SVG do not have to wonder about the fortunes of businesses environment or businesses under Ralph Gonsalves or his son as a newspaper correspondent in the UK is asking of the Opposition Leader in Britain as he ask.

    “Has Jeremy Corbyn’s son provided a glimpse of the economic future under Labour?”
    “Corbynomics (that is economics by the British opposition Labour Party Leader) really does make business go up in smoke! Labour leader son’s ‘National Hemp Service’ selling cannabis products goes bust owing £100,000”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7716123/Jeremy-Corbyns-sons-firm-goes-liquidation-owing-100-000.html

    We already know about the fortunes of businesses in Cuba, SVG and Venezuela under these so-called socialist.

  5. Vincy in New York says:

    This is nothing to brag about. It’s time for the government to ensure that the people benefit from this venture. The farmers have not seen a red cent, whilst the government made millions. This should be for and about the ppl.

    Too much government is a recipe for disaster.

    This whole venture is moving at snail pace.

    Please put the necessary legal and infrastructural frameworks in place, get out of the way and let the farmers earn a dollar.

Comments closed.