Gov’t to Expand Ganja Research and Development

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, is encouraging Jamaicans to prepare to take advantage of the economic benefits to be derived from the ganja industry.

He said licences will shortly be issued to farmers for the legal cultivation of ganja, and plans are in place to expand research and development.

“In April to May of this year, we will be expanding that facility to enable full commercialisation for those of you who want to get into the thing properly and legally…,” Minister Paulwell said.

“I want to build the value of our ganja in Jamaica…what I want is to enable you to not only grow it but to process it to extract the medicinal value component and to be able to export it legally for refined goods. It’s going to happen and we are committed to doing that,” he added.

Minister Paulwell was speaking at the official commissioning of electricity service for 29 residents of Gillard in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday (February 16).

Licences have been awarded to University of the West Indies (UWI), the University of Technology (UTech) and a Canadian nutraceutical and pharmaceutical company, to cultivate ganja locally for research and development, in keeping with provisions outlined in the amended Dangerous Drugs Act.

Meanwhile, Minister Paulwell said the Government is aiming to get the Alpart bauxite plant back into full production, and to move it from its current1.6 million tonnes of bauxite annually to 2 million tonnes.

Minister Paulwell said the Alpart plant could soon be producing aluminium and further details of that programme will be announced in due course.