The Caribbean Dream: Cannabis Reform in the Islands

Any consensus would agree that one of the most beautiful places in the world for sun and fun is right off the southern coast of the US in the area better known as the Caribbean. And last week, at a meeting of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, some big steps were taken to ensure that the wondrous islands that make up the greater Caribbean area will possibly become that much better, as cannabis reform took center stage.

The current push for new legislation— starting with decriminalization, but also focused on going to full-blown legal status— is being guided by a well-known Virgin Island Senator who goes by the name of Terrence ‘Positive’ Nelson; the positive part is due to his wide bright smile, always happy demeanor, and longtime affiliation with ganja.  His current bill, which is pushing for the decriminalization of cannabis, means taking cannabis possession from a federal offense down to a civil one. The bill has just passed the first of three necessary steps to become law. Based on the ease with which this legislation jumped over its first hurdle, Nelson speculates that decriminalization could be a standard across the whole of the Caribbean before 2015.

Years prior to this latest push, the CTO would not have even acknowledged Nelson’s requests on this matter, but now, as the area’s economy is suffering and the costs of enforcing cannabis laws and incarceration take out an additional toll on their demoralized situation, the wheels of legislation seem to have just the right oil to unblock and begin to roll forward.  In his own words, with his island style dialect, Nelson said, “Let’s face it, the Caribbean is known for marijuana cultivation; our atmosphere, our culture, it’s accustomed to this…and I want the Caribbean to adapt to this commodity.  This can be the revenue source to build the infrastructure needed.”

According to Nelson, the fact that the fantastic weather permits 3 to 4 crop yields a year certainly would put it in position to dominate any of the competing marijuana tourist markets in the world, and as he says, “That doesn’t just make sense, it makes dollars and cents