Give Local Ganja Farmers concessions in all-inclusive hotels
‘Because this is all local people who have a vested interest in the game.’
THE IMMINENT establishment of cannabis dispensaries within Jamaica’s all-inclusive hotels should be the sole prerogative of local, authentic ganja farmers, according to one US-based expert. The ones who operate in the Orange Hill community, which lies adjacent to the resort town of Negril, which straddles Westmoreland and Hanover, were given the thumbs up by James Burr of Enlightened Development and Enlightened Cannabis, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Burr says because Orange Hill is internationally recognised as producing the world’s best ganja, all-inclusive hotels could be approached to offer concessions to members of that ganja-farming community, which is also a chapter of the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers’ Association (WHGFA), and is fully recognised by the Jamaican Government.
COMMUNITY PRODUCT
Burr who has been visiting numerous ganja farms in Jamaica since the mid1990s, recommended that the Cannabis Licensing Authority, which he says is reluctant to allow hotels to establish their own dispensaries, due to concerns about hoteliers taking over what has been traditionally a ‘community product’, should engage in discussions with the WHGFA and appoint a group representative to begin working, from now, with the major all-inclusive hotels regarding concessions. “Because this is all local people who have a vested interest in the game already,” he told Hospitality Jamaica. According to him, this was the perfect opportunity to protect local farmers from other external sources, and even other foreign investors from coming in and taking over their market. He said only the quality ganja produced by farmers in Orange Hill should be supplied within the all-inclusives, as Jamaica can only compete in cannabis if the quality is perfect, “Orange Hill has all the attributes to grow perfect herb, including expertise involving decades of field work, in the right climatic conditions”. The idea of giving concessions to community members is one that Burr says has been tried, tested and proven to be successful in areas such as the Leonard Jackson Airport in Atlanta,
which, when it was built, offered food concessions to community members, many of whom had entered into criminality due to economic deprivation. “So when you go through that airport, you see those small businesses ... small restaurants and those small vendors. They weren’t given to Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s – the big organisations. It needs to be inclusive of the community, and the way that that happens is concessions,” he added. He said tourists coming to Jamaica’s all-inclusive resorts should be able to access cannabis, similar to how they access items such as food as well as tobacco, liquor and beer in a controlled manner. “Alcohol has its restrictions; cannabis will also have its restrictions. But yes, people shouldn’t have to leave an all-inclusive and go out on to the street or travel long distances to a dispensary every time they want a roll of spliff,” he said. Burr also noted that since the relatively small sizes of the traditional ganja-growing areas surrounding places such as Negril hinder farmers from supplying the hotels, tourists, the export industry and the local market, there would be a serious need for expansion. “There is a reason why Orange Hill herb is better. Thirty per cent culture, 30 per cent history, because these are the people who have the strains and want to be in the ganja industry. That’s where the hippies came with the seeds and the hybrids. So Negril and that whole area have the advantage,” he said. Jill Burr of Sustainable Resort Development for the Caribbean also had another spin on the subject. According to her, community-run concessionaires within the all-inclusives will offer opportunities for tourists to immerse themselves in another aspect of Jamaican culture, as many who are non-smokers may want to eat, get the oil, or simply smell the herb. She said because tourists predominantly do not leave the all-inclusive resorts, it is critical that the local industry fill this gap. She said a dispensary or herb house retail outlet within the resort itself, brings in the opportunity for consumers to learn about and experience the culture, as opposed to “just come in and then buy some herb and go smoke it somewhere,” but, would be able to learn, for example where it was farmed, the profile of the farmers, and the development of particular strains. “Some people have a legitimate concern that it would take away from the local market or would take away from local people benefitting. All-inclusive resorts do have a reputation of that, without a doubt, and that often is the case. But with this particular instance, there is actually an opportunity to introduce culture into what can be a very homogenized environment. Because ganja is a part of Jamaican culture, period,” she said.