Jamaica's Marijuana Shortage Deemed "Cultural Embarrassment"

Jamaica has faced many problems over the past year, including the threat of the deadly coronavirus, to sharp and extreme weather changes. Branded a "cultural embarrassment", it is these harsh conditions that have led to a nationwide shortage of marijuana.

Jamaica has two main seasons: the dry weather spanning from December to April, and the wet hurricane season detected from June to November. However, last year’s dry season was extreme, which led to severe drought and spiking temperatures, followed by relentless, recurring hurricanes. Fast forward to the present day, the weather is not only a nagging dilemma, but a trigger for financial struggle.

credit: Lonely Planet (via Getty Images)

Cannabis-associated culture has been prominent in Jamaica ever since 1838, when emancipation was granted as a result of African slaves rebelling. More than 20,000 enslaved people partook in the burning of over 200 white slave owners' plantations. After this, the plantation owners decided to find new labourers who were from East India. It was these enslaved people who introduced Jamaica to the first seedlings of cannabis. From then onwards, cannabis swiftly became a centrepiece of Jamaican culture, especially due to Bob Marley, Jamaica’s most famous cannabis advocate.

Triston Thompson works for Tacaya, a consulting and brokerage firm for the country's nascent legal cannabis industry. He indicates "it's a cultural embarrassment" that the cannabis production industry has been ruined. With the 6pm curfew implemented as part of the strict COVID-19 measures, and a lack of cannabis farmers, farmers have not been able to tend to their fields at night - as would usually be routine. Marijuana fields were also assaulted with heavy rain during last year's hurricane season; they were then repeatedly scorched, which led to tens of thousands of dollars of losses. One farmer, Daneyel Bozra, states that the intense weather "destroyed everything".

Until 2015, possession of two ounces of marijuana was considered a criminal offence, and would have seen people sent to jail. Nonetheless, in the past few years, the Jamaican government has gradually accepted its image as the cannabis hotspot, The Dangerous Drug Act was passed in 2015, which decriminalized the use and selling of marijuana, but only with an applicable license. The act did not legalize the drug completely, as it is not accessible to minors, which - in the case of Jamaica - is anyone below 18 years of age. People are allowed to farm a maximum of five plants, and Rastafarians are permitted to smoke cannabis for religious considerations.

Enforcement of measures regarding the decriminalization of "ganja" is not taken seriously, so more and more people are buying marijuana from the streets. Paul Burke, chief executive of Jamaica's Ganja Growers and Producers Association, expresses his concern: “People are no longer afraid of being locked up now the government allows possession of small amounts.”

For many farmers in Jamaica, the cultivation of cannabis is their main source of income and their livelihood. Kenrick Wallace, a farmer who nurtures two acres of cannabis with approximately 20 other farmers, estimates he lost more than 18,000 dollars in recent months, and cultivated only 300lb, compared with an average of 700lb to 800lb the group normally produces.

credit: Bloomberg

As of now, the absence of large groups of ganja-seeking tourists has caused the farmers' income to plummet. Due to the current pandemic and strict measures put in place globally, the Jamaican cannabis industry is failing to reach individuals who want to buy marijuana. As a result, many people have started buying from their local producers instead. This lack of custom combined with the weather's destruction of the cannabis plants means that Jamaica's ganja industry is continuously struggling to maintain its market.