Importation of ganja from Canada in accordance with regulations – CLA
Published:Saturday | March 4, 2023 | 1:43 PM
The Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) says the authorisation granted to the company to import cannabis from Canada to Jamaica was done in keeping with the designated regulations.
There has been pushback from local stakeholders since news emerged about the importation.
They have argued that this came at a time when local players have encountered roadblocks in accessing the Canadian market.
The CLA says it is unaware of any specific restrictions on importing Jamaican cannabis into Canada.
It pointed out that Canada was the first country to which local entities requested and received export authorisations and those have been followed by other export authorisations over the years, with a total of nine authorisations for export to Canada being granted.
“Should there have been refusal by Canada to issue import permits for product from Jamaica, the authority is not aware of these proposed consignments or reason for refusal, as no requests for permits to export to Canada have been received since 2020,” the entity said in a media release.
The CLA noted that an export authorisation is only issued to an entity after it has furnished an import authorisation from the receiving country and that authorisation is subsequently verified by the authority as legitimate.
The regulator outlined that the importing company is registered with the Companies Office of Jamaica in accordance with the applicable regulation, namely the Dangerous Drugs (Cannabis Licensing) (Interim) Regulations 2016, which requires 'substantial' ownership and control by persons 'ordinarily resident' in Jamaica, or a cooperative with proof of registration under the Co-operative Societies or Friendly Societies Act.
The request was made in full compliance with the applicable regulations and international treaties and it is against that background that the import authorisation was granted, said the CLA.
To date, the authority has approved 224 export authorisations for ganja and four import authorisations.
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