BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The St. Kitts-Nevis government says it is taking the steps required to create a sustainable medicinal cannabis industry as the twin-island Federation moves to reduce its dependency on the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program.
Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, whose administration came to office following the general elections in August, told the St. Kitts-Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) that there is much work to be done because, as it stands now, the Federation is well behind Caribbean countries on the matter of establishing a cannabis industry.
“Antigua is ahead, St. Vincent is ahead, Jamaica is ahead, and we know that people travel to these countries because they would have an industry that is well-controlled, well-monitored, and so forth that allows for the use of marijuana. And so, we will be on that path and see a lot of action in that area within the first year,” Prime Minister Drew said.
“We have a Marijuana Commission in place, and that Commission would start functioning in earnest to get us there. We will then move to expunge the records of those who have criminal records for possession of marijuana. We think that that should not limit people’s advancement, so we will put the necessary legislation to get us there.”
He said that his new administration would ensure that it is the citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis who shall benefit first and foremost from the establishment of the cannabis industry.
“At this point, we are not looking at any outside people necessarily coming in and dominating this industry. This industry is for our people to develop. We will not make that mistake, and therefore we will, of course, meet those involved in this industry, and we will work out ways to make sure that they are a part of the industry,” Prime Minister Drew said.
“I would say at this time, the goal is and what we will do is to make sure that the local growers are protected [and] our people are protected within that industry.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Drew has said that there is a need to diversify the local economy to reduce the country’s dependency on the CBI, which allows foreign investors to be granted citizenship in return for making a significant investment in the socio-economic development of the twin island Federation.
“We need, as a country, to understand where we are with the CBI program and make meaningful decisions to still benefit from it. However, we cannot allow it to continue to be the mainstay of our revenue generation.”
Prime Minister Drew said that his administration has already put together an Economic Council that will guide the country’s development process.
“That Economic Council is to…make sure that we have that developmental plan and the strategy of implementation. Because for example, our economy, the last administration caused the economy to depend heavily on the CBI program. We have to diversify the economy, so that (the CBI) is a part of the economy and that we don’t depend on that as heavily as we are right now.”
He said the Economic Council would be formalized shortly, and its members would then be made public. In the meantime, the government will ensure that funds generated through the CBI program will be used for the benefit of the population.
“We are saying that the program will now be used to deliver what we need in this country. Our electricity generation is in shambles right now. You saw that we had to do some load shedding because the generators were old; they had not been replaced for many years. We had to get in there quickly, and we had to buy some new generators.
“We also have to invest in water (and) these are basic things we have to invest in because the country moved ahead with housing and so forth, but electricity generation and water were left behind,” Prime Minister Dr. Drew told the SKNIS.
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