Jamaica, a small Caribbean country of 2.8 million people, is best known for its cannabis, or “ganja,” as it is called there. However, in recent weeks, stocks have become scarce, says The Parisian in its columns, Saturday February 27. In question, a capricious weather, tourism at a standstill and an epidemic of coronavirus which drags on. “There is general economic tension across the country. Cannabis sustains a lot of people here, especially small producers. It’s a disaster for them, ”Coryse Edmond, a tour operator, told the newspaper.
After three months of intense rains at the end of 2020, which caused landslides, floods and mudslides, the crops of small producers are ravaged. Now the country is facing a serious drought, but these climatic variations have a direct impact on the development of cannabis plants, rather accustomed to tropical mildness. The weather of the last few weeks, much better, could help bring things back to normal.
The price of a joint has doubled in recent weeks
The coronavirus epidemic has also played a big role in this cannabis shortage. Since March 2020, Jamaicans have been subject to a curfew, while producers work nights. Travelers, stranded due to health restrictions across the world, have also deserted the country, as cannabis-related tourism typically accounts for 20% of Jamaica’s GDP. Only Americans can still get there. Gatherings were also banned on site, drastically reducing festive consumption.
As a result, prices have doubled according to many industry players interviewed by The Parisian. Small vendors are getting scarcer, and now you have to pay at least a dollar to get a joint. Before this crisis, it cost only about fifty cents, cheaper than a cigarette. Nevertheless, for the government, there is no shortage. “In the legal market,” specifies Yanique Wallace, researcher at the Cannabis Licensing Authority, to the daily.Since the decriminalization of cannabis in the country in 2015, two parallel markets have emerged: the legal with prescription marijuana and the black market. Police checks are increasing to find illegal plantations, hundreds of kilos of cannabis are thus recovered and disappear from the streets of Jamaica.
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