Debating the bill in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray described the legislation as historic and overdue.
However, he warned that if decisive action was not taken by Government, the billion-dollar industry could be sold out to international business owners.
Paray said, “Trinidad and Tobago has to guard against becoming a sardine swimming in a world of ferocious cannabis sharks… Our Government must be decisive in insisting that the liberalised cannabis industry must and at all times bring the greatest benefits to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. And the Government must be proactive in doing so.”
He urged the Government to introduce a clause under Part 4 to stipulate majority local ownership in all organisations seeking licenses which could be fashioned after the legislations in other Caricom territories.
Paray debated concerns relating to the legal, administrative, medicinal, sacramental and other core aspects of the Bill.
Stating that Trinidad and Tobago was lagging behind in its passing of legislation compared to other Caribbean countries, Paray said that Government could take examples from Jamaica, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in protecting and commercialising the industry through cultivation and dissemination.
“The global cannabis industry is being projected to be worth US$197 billion in six years’ time. That forecast was made in January by the respected Fortune Business Insights. There have been varying projections by different institutions, but it is obvious to all that cannabis is a flourishing business… The most crucial reason is the increasing awareness about the therapeutic and medicinal benefits of cannabis as an organic product,” he said.
Paray added that a recent report of a London-based organisation named Cannabis Business Plan said the prospective markets in Latin America and the Caribbean would be worth US $800 million by 2026.
That report said the region would benefit from labour costs that are 80 per cent lower than that in North America.
Paray said, “We have the capacity in Trinidad and Tobago to set up the appropriate processing industry, utilise export chains, and market our brand of Trinidad and Tobago. We could benefit from a transfer of technology in a fast-growing sector. We could boost the tourism sector, in the manner that Jamaica and other forward-thinking Caricom nations are doing. This is a real opportunity to set up a green economy. It will not come greener than this.”
He continued, “There are lucrative openings for a wide range of participants, from low-skilled players to major high-tech investors. This is welcomed in a post-pandemic era, saddled with extremely high unemployment across the streams in Trinidad and Tobago. There are opportunities for the common man to the sophisticated entrepreneur.”
After all, cannabis is first and foremost an agricultural endeavour,” Paray said.
Paray also questioned safeguarding the cultivation for domestic use including guidelines for law enforcement officers and areas designated for consumption of cannabis products. He asked if locals have to face international banking issues considering that the cannabis trade was illegal in certain countries.
The MP also recommended that there be a public education campaign on the various aspect of this legislation.
