The newly established Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority should be ready to begin issuing licences next month, Agriculture Minister Indar Weir has said.
But Weir has hinted at the possibility of Barbadians having to be prepared to make “heavy investments in order to get going” into the new industry under which the Government will allow the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Weir told the online publication, Barbados TODAY, while he is “happy to report that the authority is established, and they are ready to work”, he is hoping that the first licence would be ready to be issued before February but no later than the end of that month.
“By February all of the necessary information should be in the public domain, so that the public will be aware of the process and what they have to do in order to be able to start to apply for licences,” he said, even as he declined to disclose the cost of the various categories of licences.
The agriculture minister said that while Barbadians will not be left out of the new industry, they must be prepared to make heavy investment in order to get going.
“Barbados’ marijuana sector is not small business activity only, it calls for huge investment in research and development,” he said, noting that he was not prepared to comment on whether or not the “average” Barbadian could afford to obtain a licence.
“Frankly, I don’t know what the average man means; the average man cannot invest in Coca-Cola,” he said, insisting that the focus now should be on what is needed to get the industry off the ground.
