Cannabis has been intertwined with Jamaican culture for a very long time. While it is unknown how many unregulated cannabis cultivators there are in the Caribbean country, it is a safe bet that there are many of them. Jamaica’s government is working to make it easier for those ‘legacy’ growers to enter into the nation’s legal industry.

“Traditional marijuana farmers are encouraged to take advantage of dedicated pathways introduced by the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), making it easier for them to enter the legal cannabis industry.” Jamaica Information Service wrote in a recent article. “Under the recently implemented Cultivator’s Transitional Special Permit and the Special Community Permit, these legacy growers can access the market with reduced financial and technical barriers.”

“We find that there are individuals who have been cultivating ganja for years, decades… but you don’t necessarily have the money to come into the industry. Well, these permits were created for persons who cannot necessarily afford the standard licences to be able to come into the industry,” said Senior Director of Operations at the Cannabis Licensing Authority, Shandel Hannam.

Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) oversees the nation’s emerging industry and was established in 2015 as part of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act. The CLA is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce. Five industry licenses are currently available in Jamaica via the CLA:

• Cultivator
• Processing
• Transport
• Retail
• Research and Development

According to published data from the CLA, regulators in Jamaica have issued 166 cannabis industry licenses. Another 18 applications are “at the licence granted stage in the application process and are awaiting the payment of license fees for issuance,” and “36 applications are at the conditional approval stage of the application process.”