Legislative Process for Cannabis Industry Advances

Legislative Process for Cannabis Industry Advances

Legislative Process for Cannabis Industry Advances

(CASTRIES, Saint Lucia – November 20, 2020) – Despite concerns being expressed by pockets of industry stakeholders, progress continues to be made towards establishing a cannabis industry in Saint Lucia. This news comes as Government is inundated with requests for updates as to when Saint Lucia will join other regional territories in cannabis legal/regulatory reform and in establishing a cannabis industry.

The Cannabis Commission, which was chaired by Michael Gordon QC, was decommissioned after its functions ended with the submission of its report. Subsequently, a new Committee was appointed to draft the Policy and Legislative and Regulatory Framework, a left-over task from the Cannabis Commission.

The Saint Lucia Cannabis Commission was established by the Government of Saint Lucia in 2019 to review and make recommendations on the laws and regulations as it relates to cannabis. The mandate of the Commission was to explore the following broad areas:

• To conduct rigorous enquiry into the social, health and legal issues surrounding cannabis in Saint Lucia.
• To engage government organizations, youth and experts in relevant fields with expertise in production, distribution and sales and seek their views on issues fundamental to a legislative and regulatory system for restricted access to cannabis.
• To provide opportunities for all Saint Lucians to offer their views on key questions related to cannabis.
• Recommend changes to the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act to create a regulated environment that minimizes harms and maximizes benefits.

Over the course of its tenure, members of the Cannabis Commission held several town hall meetings to both gather and disseminate information relative to the setting up of a cannabis industry.  The public was also afforded the opportunity to express their views and provide feedback as to whether they favour the initiative and the structures they would like to see put in place to govern the industry.  It should be noted that most, if not all of those participants were

in favour of reforming the laws on cannabis and establishing an industry which would benefit the citizens of Saint Lucia while protecting the youth and the vulnerable.

The Cannabis Report was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers prior to it being deliberated on June 15, 2020, and even more consultations were instructed to be undertaken before a decision was made.  A series of virtual consultations were swiftly undertaken targeting specific groups including youth groups, religious organisations and public and private sector entities to name a few. The Cabinet of Ministers made a ruling thereafter to draft policy and legislative and regulatory framework to guide the industry, which is currently being done.

The policy framework was recently submitted to Cabinet and has subsequently been approved.  The present Committee is now working tirelessly to complete the regulatory and legislative framework by end of month.  Once complete and approved by Cabinet, this will be forwarded to the Legislative Drafting Unit for the drafting of the Bill. This is expected to be completed by end of year or early 2021. 

Cabinet had also endorsed the recommendation to expunge the criminal records of persons charged with unlawful possession of cannabis under 30 grams and the relevant department is currently working towards the realization of same.

The Government of Saint Lucia expects the reformation of the laws surrounding cannabis to simultaneously address human rights issues, personal use, religious use and scientific research, as well as public health and safety while establishing a sustainable framework for the cannabis industry.

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