De Caires has high hopes despite pace of Cannabis Commission!

Andre De Caires is not a happy man. He definitely is not satisfied with the pace at which the recently formed Cannabis Commission is working. The commission’s mandate is to “consult and provide advice on the design of a legislative and regulatory framework for cannabis”. On Monday De Caires, Chairman of the Cannabis Movement, told the STAR that following the commission’s establishment in September, the plan was to immediately roll out a national educational programme. But this did not pan out.

He anticipates that in the next two weeks the programme should begin with the hosting of five town hall meetings, and blamed the late start on the hiring of a marketing firm to handle the initiative. “If they just had given it to us,” said De Caires, “we would have had it up and running. But what am I going to say? It’s the process that they want, so that’s the process.”  

Meanwhile, four sub-committees were established: legislative, medical, economic and standards. Each sub-committee is in the process of preparing a report to be submitted by next week. The reports will then be compiled into one, and submitted to Cabinet by the end of November. 

Despite his dissatisfaction, De Caires said he is hopeful Saint Lucia will soon make the necessary changes for a cannabis industry. He heaped praise on Invest Saint Lucia, the secretariat of the Cannabis Commission, for pushing the process ahead. He says it may even be a blessing in disguise that they were able to observe how others in the region handled the industry, and then make Saint Lucia’s model better. 

From November 8 to 11 De Caires attended a workshop in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, facilitated by the Netherlands-based Transnational Institute. It brought together activists and farmers’ representatives from across the region. Discussions centred on management of the cannabis industry in the face of the enormous influx of investment money from cannabis companies “that do not exactly share the interest of the farmers, and the development of the islands as their first priority”. 

The organisation noted that most investors take away the larger share of the profits, but it is concerned that the people of the region should position themselves to ensure that they benefit greatly as well. It is expected that a steering group will be formed to advocate for a joint policy for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries. 

De Caires says it was a great experience being able to see and share information with representatives of other countries in the region. He bemoaned that traditional cultivators are the ones who have been taking the most risk. In anticipation of a legal framework for cannabis, he says that “reparatory justice” is crucial. This means allowing traditional farmers to be chief benefactors of the industry. 

“We have to look at this as a project in poverty alleviation,” advised De Caires. “We must not let the big guys come in and run this stuff because it defeats the whole purpose. So it was a great symposium.” The setting up of a co-operative, which De Caires said should be registered before the end of the month, is the Cannabis Movement’s pre-emptive plan against such an occurrence here.