Barbados Banking Hurdles Delay Full Implementation of Medicinal Marijuana Industry, Minister Weir Optimistic About Business Potential

Banking hurdles are standing in the way of the full implementation of Barbados’ medicinal marijuana industry, but Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Indar Weir is not giving up hope on the potential for medicinal cannabis to be a high-earning business.

He told the Parliament on Tuesday that banking has been the major obstacle concerning how the United States treats restrictions on certain jurisdictions.

“Getting into that space, while it is true that it can be a lucrative business, the biggest challenge we face is how the US treats to this. In certain states, they have allowed for trade in medicinal cannabis to take place and have allowed for banking to take place, whereas, they have imposed restrictions on other jurisdictions,” he explained.

The minister said it has been suggested that the only way around it is through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) regional grouping.

Questioned further by Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne during the 2024 Estimates in the House of Assembly on the cost of maintaining the project in the absence of a full startup, Minister Weir said it has cost about $3.4 million per year since the launch in 2019.

He said Jamaica was the CARICOM country leading the fight on the banking issues and it took them more than ten years to get their industry settled.

“When I went to Jamaica to look at what they were doing with their industry, the minister of agriculture said to me that the only way we can resolve the problem is through CARICOM making a decision on how to deal with it.

“We have, however, been able to forge ahead, similar to St Vincent and the Grenadines. (They) started this process ahead of us as well and it was only within the last year or two, they were able to land investment in the business,” Weir said.

The minister said they are working on a model that will allow those with experience dealing with cannabis to be involved in the local industry. The Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA) will also be working with the University of the West Indies (UWI) on research, he added.

“The medicinal cannabis industry has great potential. It is going to be a fairly sizeable revenue earner for us,” Weir predicted.

However, Thorne suggested to the minister that it was likely the industry would not get off the ground after the government had poured millions into the project.