Country plans to re-establish cannabis production after devastatingLa Soufrière Volcano

Jamaican medical cannabis producer Pure Jamaican has donated 10,000 premium feminised cannabis seeds to the CARICOM member state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

The philanthropic gift is in response to the damage caused by the La Soufrière eruption, which devastated the germplasm of licensed traditional cultivators in SVG, who were located in close proximity to the volcano.

If successful, this would represent the first legal export of cannabis material from Jamaica to another CARICOM country.

Commenting on the donation offer Chief Executive Officer of SVG’s Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) Dr Jerrol Thompson says “the MCA of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines graciously accepts these high-performance feminised seeds, on behalf of the traditional cultivators of SVG. Many of the varieties and landraces, which existed in SVG were destroyed by the eruption of La Soufrière.”

He explains that one of these landraces had originated from Jamaica. According to him, “this donation not only helps to rehabilitate the livelihoods and production capacity of these farmers, it will also improve the quality of the seeds as planting material specially designed for a tropical setting. May this historic and generous donation inspire even greater cooperation and serve as an example to the world.”

The seeds were produced under a research and development (R&D) initiative spearheaded by Pure Jamaican’s Gi Life Farm and Master Grower, Ed Rosenthal; Benjamin Lind of Humboldt Seed Company and Dr Machel Emanuel, Principal Investigator of the Life Science Cannabis Research Group at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The donation was presented to MCA by Robert Wright, Director of Pure Jamaican and Chairman of the Gi Life Foundation.

True humanitarian gesture by Pure Jamaican

For his part, Dr Emanuel described the donation as, “A true humanitarian gesture by Pure Jamaican to offer clean cannabis planting material in the form of feminized seeds of various cultivars that have been stabilized and bred for high THC production in an equatorial climate. This donation is also the first step in establishing the Caribbean cannabis economy where cannabis can cross-regional jurisdictions legally.”

LeVaughn Flynn, Chairman of Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) remarked: “I’d like to commend Pure Jamaican and Gi Life for the contribution of premium seeds to the cannabis community in SVG. SVG has a strong tradition of cannabis cultivators, and its very existence was threatened by the recent volcanic eruptions. This donation is a strong statement and signals unity. It will be part of SVG’s rebirth as it looks to carve its niche in the global cannabis industry.”

Diane Edwards, President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), also said her organisation “is thrilled to work with the Pure Jamaican group of companies in this effort to stimulate growth in SVG and the CARICOM region. Pure Jamaican and Dr Machel Emanuel have extremely high standards for modern botanical cultivation. We also hope this is of great economic benefit to SVG.”

Pure Jamaican Co-Founder and CEO Scott Cathcart pointed to the fact that the world is increasingly discovering the gifts that cannabis can give, adding, “We hope this gift of premium genetics can not only help produce medicine for patients in SVG but also lead to tremendous economic opportunity for the country.”

Pure Jamaican is actively scaling operations to produce large volumes of premium cannabis genetics for export to legal jurisdictions globally. The Pure Jamaican Group of Companies is also catalysing the global supply chain of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid and psilocybin molecules, new delivery systems for these molecules, and championing innovative ways to utilize botanicals to invent revolutionary new medicines and branded consumer packaged goods.

With a team spanning the US, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, and Israel, Pure Jamaican is a multinational organisation on a mission to help people and populations achieve well-being and to help transform lives globally.

Pure Jamaican’s diverse revenue streams support sustainable long-term value creation in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and CPG industries.

Meanwhile, Pure Jamaican is also dedicated to philanthropy and has created two charitable foundations in Jamaica for the benefit of the rural communities in which it operates farms.