Business
USA | Feb 24, 2024

Pure Jamaican’s first legal THC exports US-bound

/ Our Today

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Marijuana plants for the adult recreational market are seen inside a greenhouse. (Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File)

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Medical cannabis company, Pure Jamaican and its licensed pharma manufacturer, Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals have made their first legal export of pharmaceutical products containing THC to the United States.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis, which is widely grown in Jamaica for decades.

The permissions to export these THC products to the US were granted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-certified, Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals, pursuant to valid corresponding import permits received from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

The products were shipped to a DEA-licensed facility in America for successful analytical testing. Once the DEA approves the rescheduling of THC from Schedule I to Schedule III under the US Controlled Substance Act, as is widely anticipated, Seven-10 intends to request DEA permits to ship Pure Jamaican pharmaceutical THC products from Jamaica to patients in the US.

Pure already shipping THC products to Brazil

This is subject to valid doctor prescriptions and all relevant DEA, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state pharmacy distribution regulations. Meanwhile, Seven-10 has already begun shipping Pure Jamaican’s Botanicos pharmaceutical tinctures with THC and other cannabinoids directly to patients in Brazil, pursuant to ANVISA import permits.

Together, Brazil and the US represent populations of more than 500 million people, providing tremendous potential demand. By exporting these products to these two countries Pure Jamaican is elevating Jamaica’s role in the global cannabis supply chain by legally exporting proprietary pharmaceutical products with cannabis-derived THC, as well as hemp-derived CBD and other cannabinoids America, Brazil and other major international markets.

Commenting on the move, Scott Cathcart, CEO of Pure Jamaican and Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals, says, “this is a proud moment for Jamaica and for our group of companies. Jamaica has long been associated with ‘ganja’ but never before in this context as a producer and legal exporter of THC as a pharmaceutical-grade medicine. As the only company in Jamaica licensed for pharmaceutical manufacturing of cannabinoids, we are proud to be leading the way to elevating the role of Jamaica in the global cannabis ecosystem.”

(Photo: Contributed)

Shullette Cox, president of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), hailed, “the growth of the cannabis industry for medicinal purposes has been a priority of the government of Jamaica and particularly, the export of value-added products from Jamaica. The success of Pure Jamaican and Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals is applauded as JAMPRO continues to facilitate the local medicinal cannabis industry and ensuring its role in driving the growth of exports.”

For her part, Dr. Ellen Campbell Grizzle, chief regulatory and compliance officer of Pure Jamaican and Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals and former dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Technology (UTech), in expressing her excitement at the good news says, “this is a labour of love and not easy. Jamaica has 52 per cent of the world’s medicinal plants in our small island nation, and we are very proud to be exploring ways to identify new botanical medicines to bring health, wellness, new exports and economic growth to our country.”

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