Program Will Help Rastafarians Join Medical Cannabis Industry in Jamaica

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Alternative Development Programme (ADP) is launching this month and is designed to help traditional cannabis farmers in Jamaica—most notably Rastafarians—participate in the island’s medical cannabis program.

Despite cannabis being common in Jamaica, Rastafarians have been persecuted for their sacramental use of the plant, even after the island decriminalized cannabis for personal use in 2015. Now Rastafarian elders are interested in tapping into the emerging medical cannabis industry, especially since they’ve used the plant medicinally for a long time. “This could create employment and give ownership to grassroots people,” Ras Iyah V. told Reuters. Ras Iyah V set up a crowdfunding campaign after work on a local 10-acre cannabis farm came to a halt.

Like equity programs in the United States, ADP would help fix the imbalance between disadvantaged communities and other communities. The program would also assist the Maroons, or descendants of Africans who escaped slavery, mixed with indigenous islanders and formed isolated settlements across the island. Hundreds of years later, the communities still live in relative isolation.

Attorney Grace Lindo sees this as an opportunity to build a bridge between Rastafarians, Maroons and other Jamaicans. “We recognize that we have had traditional growers, and different parts of our societies have viewed the plant in different ways,” said Lindo. “It is very important for us to move the illegal activity to a legalized trade.”

Part of the need for reparations is based on the fact that the country’s police force has a history of treating cannabis consumers poorly, including reggae performers. On multiple occasions, devout Rastafarian Peter Tosh was severely beaten by police for smoking cannabis.

Although cannabis has been common in Jamaica for a long time, legal cannabis is a fairly new concept. Last year, Kaya Farms, was the first dispensary to open in Jamaica. The rapid evolution of the way cannabis is treated could help end the unnecessary violence. This program is one of the ways that people who already consume cannabis can participate in the new industry.