Jamaica receives slew of medical marijuana business applications

Jamaica has received 236 business license applications since opening the permit process last year.

Of the 236 applications, two licenses have been granted but not issued because the winners have yet to pay their fees, according to Hyacinth Lightbourne, chair of Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA).

Another 44 applications have gotten conditional approval, according to the government-run Jamaica Information Service.

Application numbers have grown steadily. Jamaican regulators received 89 applications through late October and about 160 through February.

Lightbourne told an MMJ conference in Kingston that Jamaica’s licensing process takes about six months for the six license categories: cultivation, processing, transportation, retail, and research and development.

The licensing authority has also been working with Jamaica’s National Land Agency and Land Administration and Management Programme to identify landowners who might be interesting in “participating” in the cannabis industry, according to the news service.