Jamaica On A Quest To Become Top Cannabis Tourist Destination

doitvoluntarily (77)in #cannabis • 5 years ago

The worldwide cannabis market is expected to reach $40 billion by 2024.

And Jamaica is hoping that they can cash in big on the opportunity. Travel experts have suggested that Jamaica might eventually become the king of cannabis tourism.

Back in 2015, Jamaica decriminalized possession for up to 2oz of cannabis and they've also embraced medicinal cannabis. They are expecting to benefit significantly from cannabis reforms in both Europe and the United States.

Dr. W. McNeill is a former Minister of Tourism and current politician in the country, who has recently urged the government to move quickly on crafting their own legalization policy that will clearly spell out their position on cannabis.

If they seek to embrace this market, he suspects that it could lead to cannabis-themed guided tours of approved farms, it could also hugely benefit the spa and health and wellness market etc. There are big opportunities here and they don't want to miss out, they are going to make sure that they have their hand in control of the cannabis industry.

On top cannabis tourism destination lists, Jamaica surprisingly doesn't often make the top recommendations. Believe it or not, it's regions like Canada, Uruguay, and The Netherlands, which have come out ahead frequently.

There are also a growing number of regions in the United States that are looking to compete as well, Colorado, California, Washington etc.

The competition to grab the interest of those cannabis tourists is getting more difficult, but Jamaica has a long history with cannabis deeply embedded into their culture, and they have a good chance of coming out on top.

Ultimately, Jamaica is hoping to decrease the amount of illegal cultivation of cannabis in the region, which is estimated to be upwards of 37k acres. That's somewhere north of $1 trillion in value and they want their cut. It's not so much about giving tourists and people living there more freedom and a higher standard of living so much as it is about them making more money.

The government has previously insisted that they intend to bring all cannabis farmers in Jamaica into their controlled market.

For those who want to apply for a grower's license it is going to cost them at least $300 and that is more than most Rastafarians can afford, they naturally fear being left out of this market as a result. If you want a business license it will be even more, sometimes between $500 to $10,000 depending on the annual fee etc. Rastafarians say that they feel that unless they are a big corporation that they are at a disadvantage now to compete, a sentiment which has been echoed as legalization has swept through numerous areas. If the government truly wants the market to flourish then they should seek to inject as little coercion as possible into the mix.

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