It’s been a few months since ganja has been decriminalized in Jamaica. Now the islanders are working to figure out how to best integrating toking into tourism for the country. There is a group of Jamaican farmers and politicians who have been pushing to capitalize on the already existent homegrown industry with an international brand.
Given the image of Jamaican society, establishing name recognition doesn’t seem like it should be a problem. It’s a common thought that the tourism market in Jamaica already exists because of marijuana. If that is the case, then why not build on that and watch the tax dollars coming pouring in.
Jamaica isn’t the only Caribbean country looking to cash in on cannabis as a tourism revenue source. Recently at Caribbean Tourism Organization meeting other member countries were in agreement the organization itself should consider adopting cannabis as a Caribbean commodity. It’s no secret that most tourists visiting Caribbean countries plan to smoke weed on their vacations.
US Virgin Islands legislator Terrence Nelson called for the creation of a “Caribbean cannabis trade organization” to market marijuana tourism, with proceeds going to a “superfund” for infrastructure improvements in “electricity, water, Internet, hospitals and healthcare facilities.”
Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance couldn’t agree with the legislator’s thoughts more. In Nadelmann’s opinion Jamaica should focus their effots on integrating cannabis with tourism.
“Consumer tastes have shifted from outdoor growing, which is what you do in Jamaica, to indoor growing.” He warned that Jamaica could end up importing ganja from the US if they don’t move forward quickly and fine-tune their legalization policies.
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