‘Fair Trade’ Cannabis Initiative Launched At UN Narcotic Drugs Conference
Traditional cannabis farmers in the developing world risk being shut out of multi-billion pound international legal cannabis industry.
(March 21st, 2019) – Policy changes over the past five years or so have dramatically reshaped the global cannabis market offering enormous commercial opportunities. Competition to capture legal market share threatens to restrict access to the rapidly growing market to all but a few big players.
Equinox International, a leading UK-based cannabis company, on 21st March launched a ‘fair trade’ cannabis initiative Cannabis Innovate at the 62nd UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna.
Xan Morgan, CEO of Equinox International, commented:
“There is clearly a huge and growing demand for legal cannabis globally, but many traditional farmers who have faced persecution for decades now risk being shut out of their own industry by new producers.
“The reality is that the cannabis industry has been operating for a long time, despite the difficulties imposed by legal restrictions on sales.
Now, as a result of policy shifts, practices in the industry are increasingly conforming with the norms of the global agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors. As markets open up via legalisation, it is only right that traditional producers are able to participate and profit.”
“Policymakers, development agencies, governments, investors, and consumers all need to start taking the issue of ‘fair trade’ cannabis seriously – to keep up with an industry that is developing rapidly.”
CARICOM, the Caribbean trade bloc, established a Regional Commission on Marijuana in 2014.
‘Waiting to Exhale’, a report of that commission, published today, states:
“A serious concern is that a new system could place economic power and benefit too much in the hands of large, foreign business concerns to the detriment of several stakeholders, including small farmers.”
Equinox International says that one solution would be to form an ‘inter se’ group between countries with a legal cannabis industry.
The countries would sign a sub-treaty to UN drug control agreements, to allow the international trade of cannabis between them, which other countries could join over time.
A growing industry:
- In 2000 total global legal production of cannabis was 1.4 tonnes, by 2016 total global legal production of cannabis was 211 tonnes;
- However, the most recent UN estimate of total global illegal production at 641,800 hectares,66,100 tonnes of cannabis herb and 9,900 tonnes of resin;
- Legal cannabis 44% increase in cannabis-related jobs in the US alone in 2018; and
- 2016 study of cannabis dispensaries in Portland showed:
- 28 percent of customers buy ‘organic or socially responsible’ cannabis frequently
- 53 percent make the same request occasionally
More information on the launch
Cannabis Innovate is a collaboration between international policymakers, academics, and businesses. The launch event on March 21st was hosted by the government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Intercambios Puerto Rico, a drug policy NGO; and the Transnational Institute, a sustainability advocate.
Two reports are being presented at the UN meeting:
- Waiting to Exhale – Safeguarding our Future through Responsible Socio-Legal Policy on Marijuana, Report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana- Presented by Rose-Marie Antoine, chair of CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana, a Caribbean intergovernmental body
- ‘Fair(er) trade options for the cannabis market’, Cannabis Innovate, presented by Prof. David Bewley-Taylor, Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University, UK
Waiting to Exhale explains ongoing legislative reforms within the Caribbean and among its conclusions highlights the importance of involving traditional small farmers in the emerging licit global cannabis market.
‘Fair(er) trade options examines how fair trade cannabis could be built around a rights-based, inclusive and environmentally sustainable approach to market engagement. The principles of such a model include:
- Commitment to solidarity and social justice
- Producer empowerment and community benefit sharing
- Strong environmental sustainability standards
- Labour protections
- Democratic control, participation and decision-making processes
- Transparency and traceability
- Longer-term strategies
- Social history
Equinox International says that these principles are open-ended and will be further developed over the course of further research including a series of international pilot trials, but are intended to stimulate further debate, policy, and reflection as the licit cannabis market evolves.
Professor David Bewley-Taylor, Director, Global Drug Policy Observatory, says:
“Amidst an incredibly dynamic legal, policy and commercial environment, it is important that comprehensive research and analysis, including lessons from other commodity sectors, are deployed to help shape the emerging cannabis market.
Now is the time to work for a rights-based, inclusive and environmentally sustainable approach and it’s my hope that our Fair(er) Trade Options for the Cannabis Market Report will go some way towards achieving this goal.”
