THE Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is insisting as false, a recent report by Forbes magazine that Canadian marijuana companies have pulled out of Jamaica because of a lack of positive action on the part of the Government and the CLA.
According to the influential Forbes, in a story of May 30, 2020, the cannabis stakeholders exited Jamaica because of the obstacles in the granting of licences for the production and export of the highly rated ganja from the island.
The Forbes report, entitled Aphria, Aurora And Other Big Ag Cannabis Companies Pull Out Of Jamaica, claimed that Canadian- licensed producers of cannabis were leaving the island “in droves”, due in part to stalled governmental decisions on export licenses.
But the CLA last week defended its stewardship of the Jamaican ganja industry, saying that since November 2018 licence holders have had the opportunity to export ganja inflorescence/buds and extracts from Jamaica to jurisdictions across the world, notwithstanding the absence of import/export regulations.
Alexandra Chong, principal of Jacana, a boutique Jamaican ganja outfit, argued that the Forbes magazine story “mischaracterises the real reasons some Canadian companies retreated from their international ambitions”.