My journey to a parliament sitting that was discussing Cannabis especially the Alternate Development Program.

The Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Association is at the forefront of advocating for small indigenous Ganja Farmers since 2014 the year of its formation. The founder Kubba Pringle had the vision that government was going to move toward legalization.

Founder of Whagfa Kubba Pringle. He died in June 2015

Amendment to the law came in 2015. Regulation follow soon after. Among the regulations is a clause that gave the Jamaicans a chance to get a foot in the newly regulated industry. This clause state that Jamaicans should own at lease fifty one percent (51%) of companies in the new Cannabis Industry. Farmers will have to come together to farm coop, company or some form of franchising has been the business models offered.

2016 the government announce a program for the small farmers who have kept the industry alive even as they suffer humiliation , ridicule, arrest, punishment and imprisonment for their use and belief in the herb as a medicine and sacrament. The program(named the Alternate Development Program ADP) also seek to help them transition from illegal to legal cultivation. Note the program is a UN approved one (The 1998 Action Plan, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, provides for the inclusion of such a programme through specifically designed rural development measures consistent with sustained national economic growth).

The first initiative under the program was the announcement of two (2) pilot projects. One in the ingenious community of Accompong in the Cockpit Region of St Elizabeth.

There they occupy thousand of acres of lands. These lands was given to them in an agreement with the British after multiple failed raid on the community. Since then they have operated semi autonomously without interference from the Jamaican government. The program was officially launch by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in June of this year. Below pic of Prime Minister and the Accompang Colonel by JIS.

The other pilot in the World renown Cannabis growing community of Orange Hill Negril Westmoreland. Which the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers Association (WHAGFA) lobbied for it successfully on behalf of Orange Hill. The strong feeling in the organization at the time was that we neeed to secure the brand for the community. However the program was not launch in June because the farmers have no lands that meet the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA)requirement. Since selected we have made numerous effort and inquiry but all fall short for one or another reason.

Whagfa then turn to the government, they are the biggest land owners. We identify some lands that the government Forestry Department manage. We wrote them seeking a partnership. Forestry like our ideas and show initial support by sending their experts to the lands. The experts did their works and told us their superiors will soon inform us of there final decision. That was about ten months ago. Forestry seems to be saying now they have no authority to engage in any agreement with us. That power they said lies with the government land agency. The land agency were not in a hurry to help us with land either. They said another agency has the tittle for the piece of land we identify and therefore a meeting is needed to settle the ownership and possible transfer. Repeated contact and letters have not move the dial for months..

Fast forward to a little more than a month ago we got word that the government is ready to move the Orange Hill AD Program forward. Contact was initialed with a gov rep in the ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fishery (MICAF). Weeks later a team came to look at the lands we have identified for the project. They seems anxious to get something done so our hope went from low to high very quickly. They promise we would hear something positive from them in about a week. Three (3) weeks after and there were no positive response. Contact was made, more information was provided. They then told us they were having difficulties moving forward and they will have to go to parliament to answer questions as to why the program is still not running. I already knew because the chairman of the parliamentary committee they were slated to face invited Whagfa to observe. It should be noted he said the parliament is the people's parliament and you can come anytime you wish.

PARLIAMENT
My self and another director of WHAGFA journeyed to Kingston for that sitting of parliament. We arrived early. We got our security check then proceeded to join some other people that were there waiting. We learned that they were some of the officials that the parliamentarians would be drilling especially about the AD Program. Later the members of parliament arrived, we seated ourselves in the gallery for visitors, they and the officials took there seat in the benches. It was the first time I was attending parliament... Soon after the session started and the chairman welcome and acknowledge the MP'S and the other government officials he mentioned our names in acknowledgement and stated that we are from the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers Association.

THE JAMAICA GLEANER DESCRIPTION OF THAT DAY IN PARLIAMENT.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20191031/mps-rage-over-ganja-farm-delay

My personal view is that both the CLA and the MP'S are not fully informed and are leaning on the job.
The chairman told them that they will have to return next week. Some were asking for more time but the chairman was not entertaining that, he told them that it cannot be that a matter of land between different government departments is taking so long. He told them that wherever or whomever is stopping them they should bring it to him because he want to get it done..

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