Jamaica no longer has ganja
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica is on the verge of getting rid of the ganja.
Heavy rains, followed by widespread drought, an increase in local consumption and a decline in the number of marijuana farmers have caused a shortage in the island’s famous but largely illegal market, which experts say is the worst they saw her.
“It’s a cultural embarrassment,” said Triston Thompson, the lead opportunity explorer for Tacaya, a consulting and brokerage firm for the country’s new legal cannabis industry.
Jamaica, which foreigners have long associated with pot, reggae and rastafari, authorized a regulated medical marijuana industry and decriminalized small amounts of weeds in 2015.
People caught with 2 ounces (56 grams) or less of cannabis should pay a small fine and not be arrested or have a criminal record. The island also allows people to grow up to five plants, and Rastafarians are legally allowed to smoke ganja for sacramental purposes.
But implementation is unusual, as many tourists and locals continue to buy marijuana on the street, where it has become rarer – and more expensive.
Heavy rains during last year’s hurricane season hit marijuana fields that were subsequently burned in the ensuing drought, causing losses of tens of thousands of dollars, according to farmers who grow pots outside the legal system.
“It destroyed everything,” said Daneyel Bozra, who grows marijuana in southwestern Jamaica in a historic village called Accompong, founded by 18th-century runaway slaves known as the Maroons.
The worsening of the problem was the strict measures of COVID-19, including coverage at 6 p.m., which meant farmers could not take care of their fields at night as is routine, said 29-year-old Kenrick Wallace, who cultivates 2 acres (almost one hectare) under the help of another 20 farmers.
He noted that the lack of roads forced many farmers to walk to their fields – and then to get water from wells and springs. Many failed to do those things at night because of mastery.
Wallace has estimated that he has lost more than $ 18,000 in recent months and has grown just £ 300, compared to an average of £ 700 to £ 800 that the group normally produces.
Activists say they believe the pandemic and a weakening of Jamaica’s marijuana laws have led to an increase in local consumption that has contributed to the shortage, even though the pandemic has slowed down the arrival of ganja-seeking tourists.
“Last year was the worst year. … I’ve never had this loss, “Thompson said. “It’s so ridiculous that cannabis is so short in Jamaica.”
Tourists also took note, placing posts on tourism sites about the difficulties of finding the drug.
Paul Burke, CEO of the Ganja Producers and Producers Association of Jamaica, said in a telephone interview that people are no longer afraid of being imprisoned now that the government allows small sums. He said the stigma against ganja has diminished and more people appreciate its alleged therapeutic and medical value during the pandemic.
Burke also said that some small traditional farmers have stopped growing in frustration because they cannot afford to meet the requirements for the legal market, while the police continue to destroy what he described as “good ganja fields”.
The government cannabis licensing authority – which has authorized 29 growers and issued 73 licenses for transportation, retail, processing and other activities – said there is no shortage of marijuana in the regulated industry. But farmers and activists say weeds sold through legal dispensaries known as herb houses are out of reach for many, as they still cost five to 10 times more than the pot on the street.
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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.