Dominica ‘forging ahead’ with marijuana industry, prime minister says

A draft bill paving the way for a regulated marijuana industry in the Caribbean nation of Dominica will be presented to parliament in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.

“The government will forge ahead on the matter of developing a revenue stream and foreign exchange earnings from a marijuana industry,” Skerrit said when delivering the country’s latest national budget.

Skerrit said the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) (Amendment) Bill 2020 is currently being drafted.

It will be presented to parliament at the next sitting, he said.

Most details of the proposal remain under wraps, but part of the proposed law would decriminalize the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana.

“There has been a global thrust in recent times to decriminalize certain aspects of marijuana possession, growth and ownership in recent years,” the prime minister said.

Skerrit also reiterated a pledge to expunge the criminal records of convictions for small quantities of marijuana and cease prosecutions involving the possession of 1 ounce or less of cannabis for personal use.

The budget speech is available here.