The Cabinet of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has granted approval, based on recommendations from the Board of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority, for the issuance of licences to another group of investors.
In this round, medicinal cannabis licences have been issued to two (2) traditional cultivator groups comprising thirty- nine members and sixteen (16) individual farmers. This brings to one hundred and seventy-three (173) the number of traditional cultivators who have so far satisfied the requirements, making them eligible to legally cultivate medicinal cannabis.
A traditional cultivator’s licence allows for medicinal cannabis cultivation of up to five (5) acres and is offered on preferential terms of only one hundred (100) dollars processing fee, with no licence fee attached for two years. It also guarantees a secured market as investor licencees must purchase a minimum ten (10) percent of their raw cannabis material from traditional cultivators.
In addition, seven (7) applications for local cultivators consisting of two companies and five individuals have also been granted. A further seven (7) investor companies comprising three local and four non-national companies also received licences.
The recent approvals cover applications to cultivate in areas ranging from Richmond on the Leeward side of the island to Georgetown on the Windward side.
The medicinal cannabis industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to progress apace with approved operators now engaged in preparatory work to commence cultivation and manufacturing activities soon.
Meanwhile, the Medicinal Cannabis Authority-MCA, continues to push forward with capacity building and research analyses, in order to ensure that licenced operators meet international standards and the industry remains a healthy one.
