Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Audley Shaw is extremely pleased with the first shipment of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to Delaware in the United States by Organic Growth Holdings (OGH) in Trelawny.

“I am really happy to know that you have successfully exported your first batch of CBD oil. I want to stress that this is significant, because over the past years we have been importing CBD oil into Jamaica. This is the first time we are producing CBD oil from hemp at a commercial level, at a world standard, not only for export but [it] will also be available locally,”

Mr Shaw said.

The Minister assured President of OGH, Robert Weinstein, that the Ministry, as well as the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) and other government agencies, are

“here to work with you, because we want to see the hemp industry [become] a major part of the alternative industries for this area in Jamaica…. because we have too much idle lands in Jamaica, and with that comes idle hands”.

“Minister Dunn and I, along with our staff and agencies, are going to work with you to make sure that you continue to be a smashing success and that you will be profitable and [see] wealth created from this initiative,”

he added.

Dr Dunn emphasised that the Government is on a drive to keep modernising and adjusting the cannabis industry.

“Some persons have said we are slow in the trek, but we have to be cautious in what we do, because of the legacy of this particular product and how persons have viewed Jamaica over the years. We want to ensure that everything is done correctly and in a manner that can stand [up] to scrutiny anywhere in the world,”

Dr Dunn said.

“I believe that Jamaica, more than almost anywhere else, has a tremendous opportunity to grow a product here that has been popularised by the Rastafarians for years… They have carried that torch and we believe that the torch can be made into a flame for Jamaica,”

he added.