‘We want to have a very responsible cannabis industry’ – Dr Wheatley
Dr Wheatley spoke of his government’s plans for medical marijuana during a live discussion on the Cannabis Licensing Bill, 2020, on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, on Facebook.
“The good thing is we have been able to learn from many persons who have legalised it already, and that’s why we are putting together this Cannabis Licensing Authority that will issue guidance in terms of how this plant will be regulated. There is the potential if we don’t regulate it properly to have problems, but we want to have a very responsible cannabis industry here in the Virgin Islands that would export and that would provide some types of benefits for persons who want to do medical tourism for instance,” he stated.
He said the Licensing Authority Board would comprise persons from the legal fraternity, medicine, law enforcement and business.
Investor to help
Dr Wheatley said, there will be an investor who will assist local farmers a great deal.
He explained: “So how it will really work is we will have someone who is an investor, who is a farmer, who has the international markets that we can export to, who can come and buy directly from our farmers. The investor will show them exactly how to grow the marijuana because when you are exporting marijuana, it is very important that you abide by the international standards and regulations.”
“I know there are persons who grow marijuana in the BVI presently, but you cannot grow it any type of way if you want to be able to export it. It has to be a very specific way; the investor will be able to teach them those methods and equip them on their farms and show them everything that they have to do from start to finish. And, the investor will buy the marijuana from them, process it, which will create jobs again, in terms of the processing, and to be able to export it to places around the world. There has been a great deal of demand for marijuana internationally,” he added.
He said already 700 acres of land ‘in the hills of Paraquita Bay’ has been made available to the government; however, only 50 acres will be used for the time being.
“Then we will evaluate the market and see if there is any room for growth.”
1000 letters!
Minister Wheatley also mentioned that persons in the Territory are really interested in this sector.
“When the Premier first announced that we will have a 100 farmers, I probably got about a 1,000 letters. So many persons indicated an interest in becoming one of those farmers. We had persons from all over the territory, Anegada, Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, every district and all the District Representatives got letters and inquiries,” he remarked.
“Persons are very excited about the possibility. I don’t even know how we will choose the farmers because there will be so many applications,” he said.
The bill as introduced in the House of Assembly (HoA) has been published in the Official Gazette, and members of the public can access it for their information and feedback.
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21 Responses to “‘We want to have a very responsible cannabis industry’ – Dr Wheatley”
Though the VI may not be self-sufficient in food production, it should strategically and tactically plan to produce as much food as possible and practical to a)reduce the food import bill, b)create a multiplier effect in the economy and c)improve the food security posture. The VI must take a look at non-traditional food production methods, eg, greenhouses, aquaculture......etc. Small plots, backyard.....etc food production should be incentivized and encouraged. The Agriculture Department should be well-positioned to provide training and education, plants and seedlings, fertilizer, tools, equipment and machinery rental.........etc.
AND
Why is the Minister openly talking about knowing of persons who grow the plant in the territory and that it can't be grown willy-nilly. He is aware that the plant is NOT legal here Currently right? I'm very sure those people he are talking about ARE NOT growing it for personal use but are SUPPLIERS. Which is an offence. So instead of being quiet about that knowledge or reprimand those individuals,,, it's being boasted about!!
Then you wonder why people don't comply with laws around here!
Where are the churches? Why are they so silent? God has called us as Christians to spread the WORD
to a lost and dying world, but we see the Church is failing in its duties. However, God will not let His church fall, he will rise up men and women that will be bold for him and speak out against these social ills that the government is thrusting upon us in the Corona virus pandemic.
The earthquakes and hurricanes are brewing, we don't know what will happen next. WE NEED TO HEAR THE GOVERNMENT SPEAK ABOUT FOOD SECURITY!
FATHER IN HEAVEN HELP US!!
Hear is a news flash. CBD, ie, medical marijuana, does not get you high. No one is going to be burning a CBD spliff to get high. Well, one can but he/she is not going to get high, for there is little to no THC in CBD strains of cannabis. In the pot universe, CBD is like a placebo.
Many other regional jurisdictions, eg, Antigua, Jamaica.....etc have decriminalized possession of small quantities of marijuana for personal consumption. The VI needs to consider similar actions, along with quashing the records of those convicted of possession of small quantities of pot for personal consumption.
The VI usually lags other regional countries in taking progressive actions, eg, it was the last or one of the last locale that lifted the immigration ban on non-local people with dread locks entering the territory. Locks were nothing to be dreaded. Kudos to the NDP for stopping the self hating.
[Let’s us lead like eagles, not careen off the cliff like buffaloes]
http://www.confiduss.com/en/jurisdictions/the-us-virgin-islands/politics/