Jamaica faces cannabis shortage as farmers struggle

“It’s a cultural embarrassment,” said Triston Thompson, chief opportunity explorer for Tacaya, a consulting and brokerage firm for the country’s nascent legal cannabis industry. Jamaica, which foreigners have long associated with pot, reggae and Rastafarians, authorised a regulated medical marijuana industry and decriminalized small amounts of weed in 2015. Stuff One Jamaican cannabis farmer estimates he’s lost more than NZ$25,000 in recent months (file photo). “It’s something so laughable that cannabis is short in Jamaica.”Tourists, too, have taken note, placing posts on travel websites about difficulties finding the drug. The government’s Cannabis Licensing Authority – which has authorised 29 cultivators and issued 73 licences for transportation, retail, processing and other activities – said there is no shortage of marijuana in the regulated industry.