St Vincent opens first legal marijuana cafe in Eastern Caribbean

St Vincent and the Grenadines made history after it launched the first cannabis consumption lounge in the Eastern Caribbean.

Monday, 9th May 2022

St Vincent opens first legal marijuana cafe in Eastern Caribbean

St Vincent and the Grenadines made history after it launched the first cannabis consumption lounge in the Eastern Caribbean. It was opened at Coconut Grove in Ratho Mill. The cafe, GreenHouse Cafe, was launched officially and is open to any member of the public who is a patient of cannabis consumption. CBD products are available for any member of the public as long as they are 18-years-old and older. Medicinal (CCCL) is supplying the marijuana, which is all locally grown at its farm, and the launch provides the opportunity for ease of access for patients who can get all of the steps of the process done in one place, Jessica Gagne, operations manager at CCC Limited told One News St. Vincent on Friday. "It was very hard before for patients to go from place to place to get all of the documentation and paperwork done, but now there's an opportunity to get it all done in one place rather than going from a doctor's office to the Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) in Enhams, and then to one of the applicable pharmacies for products," Jessica Gagne said. How the system at GreenHouse Cafe works is that a patient who has a prescription for medicinal marijuana drugs can purchase their products at the cafe. Anyone 18 years and older can purchase the products with a valid ID, and with a prescription. Marie Helene Tremblay, general manager of Medicinal, said "we are very thankful for the Medicinal Cannabis Authority for making this possible". "We are thankful to the minister of Agriculture and all the other ministers for helping to make this possible and achieving this major milestone for the cannabis industry," Tremblay said. "For those people unable to make it tonight, we will have another clinic in two weeks time where they can come and have their consultation done and have their medicinal cannabis card printed on site," said Tessa Glass, manager of GreenHouse Cafe. The card is a requirement to be able to access medicinal THC marijuana products, however, CBD-only products are available over the counter to the public for those 18-years and older. Meanwhile, Dr. Jerrol Thompson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority in St Vincent and the Grenadines, said that the consumption cafe is being monitored by the SVG Cannabis Authorities and that it does not infringe upon the international narcotics laws. When asked whether he thinks more of these consumption lounges will be opened, he said: "I expect that". He said Cultivation, manufacturing, and research licensing have been given out, and dispensary licenses. With those dispensary licenses, he says that pharmacies can have these consumption lounges attached to them.