Community News
Lose the fear, learn the business: CaneX Jamaica Business Conference and Expo
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
Imagine, our earth created a plant that when used has been linked to: better mental health, better cancer survival rates, increased appetite, helps to fight anxiety, ease schizophrenia, and reduce pain (Kosecki, 2019). For many years, our community has held a very negative stance towards the use of marijuana, and now that it is legalized, it does not seem like the stance has changed whatsoever. So why does our community have such a negative connotation towards this miracle plant? There is the story behind that, and I am happy to tell it.
Last week, I had an opportunity to have a conversation with Mr. Douglas Gordon, the man behind the 4th Annual CanEx Jamaica Business Conference & Expo, being held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on the beautiful island of Jamaica.
I inquired as to the importance of this conference to the community, “I saw this as an excellent platform to open up ideas, and confront the fears surrounding the marijuana industry,” Mr. Gordon began. “I really want the Caribbean to be part of what is looking to be a booming industry. The conference and expo features experts from more than 30 countries, and we invite international speakers and panellists to discuss a range of topics including: health, wellness, legal, regulatory, and investment opportunities that are available in the cannabis industry.”
“What has been some of the pushbacks that you have received from the community,” I asked. “Well, at first people were questioning my motives for getting involved in the industry. They questioned my true reasons for doing this, and it was difficult for me; I realized at that point that it was my responsibility to educate the community, and give them a different perspective on a topic that they only had knowledge on from the mainstream media.”
Mr. Godon then educated me on how this negative stigma was created. Many people are unaware that before the 1930’s, hemp (which happens to be a bi-product of the cannabis plant) was used to make a range of products, from rope, to cloth, to paper. It became a very important plant in the New World and the America’s and was even considered a proper form of currency in Virginia, as well as Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was in the early 1930’s that the use of cannabis became an issue, and it was around the time that the Mexican and black communities began to use it. Strait-laced bureaucrats began to paint the drug, and the communities who used the drug, as a threat to the country. By 1931, 29 states had outlawed marijuana, and in 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was passed making the plant illegal in the United States.
Canada’s story is a little different, and there are two competing theories as to why lawmakers banned marijuana in Canada in 1923; one story is that Canada was put under pressure by the United States to enforce the war on marijuana just as they had. Interestingly enough, just like America, hemp was a common sight on farms across the country, where you could find it growing wild.
Cannabis was brought over to Jamaica from India in the 19th Century, and it grew quickly benefitting from the rich soil, and warm tropical climate. Just like in America and Canada, cannabis was incorporated into many routine cultural practices. It was not until the 20th Century when the Council of Evangelical Churches in Jamaica (a religious institution associated with colonial elites) began to campaign to criminalize cannabis use, and in 1913, they passed the Dangerous Drugs Act, also known as the Ganja Law.
Re-education of the positive usage of marijuana is the reason that Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Agriculture, Audley Shaw, JAMPRO president Dianne Edwards, and Private Sector Organizaton of Jamaica President Howard Mitchell have strongly endorsed Mr. Douglas Gordon for his efforts, and for putting together the conference. “We have powerful advocates of the marijuana movement coming to the conference; people like: Steve DeAngelo, Vicente Fox (Former President of Mexico), Bruce Linton (Founder of Canopy Growth Corporation, and Co-Founder of Tweed Marijuana Incorporated), Ras Iyah-V (Traditional Farmer and Pioneer of CanEx), and one of my personal favourites who won’t be there this year is Montelle Williams. He came the prior two years, and I will say this, it is a learning experience for everyone.
If you are interested in learning more about the industry, and maybe even attending CanEx this year, you can visit them at https://canexjamaica.com/. It might be time to put aside our preconceived notions and learn more about a plant that might help boost the Caribbean economy in the future.