Plenty of people visit Jamaica every year and never leave the resort they’re staying in. Now, the new kiosks being considered by Jamaican officials might make it so visitors barely have to leave the airport. The Caribbean nation is considering installing kiosks that would allow travelers to obtain marijuana permits as soon as they leave customs.
Jamaica decriminalized marijuana in amounts under 2 oz. in 2015 and now the country’s Cannabis Licensing Authority is looking for ways to facilitate the exchange of green between locals and tourists. People who already have a medical marijuana permit will be able to use the kiosks to get a permit from the Ministry of Health and those who don’t will be allowed to “self-declare,” letting them also pick up a permit at the airport.
“It would primarily be for people who have a prescription and, in effect, you’re doing it for medicinal purposes with a permit from the Ministry of Health,” CLA Chairman Hyacinth Lightbourne told The Jamaica Gleaner. “If they don’t have a prescription, then they can do what we call ‘self-declare’, and this will allow them to have the two ounces while they are here.”
Jamaica is looking to capitalize on its worldwide recognition as a capital of weed culture, primarily pushed by the island’s association with reggae music and the Rastafari religion. The family of Bob Marley has already started to capitalize on the island’s new laws with a line of weed all their own.
Attitudes toward marijuana are changing throughout the world, with the United States slowly creeping toward decriminalization. With weed’s artisanal movement in full swing in states where the plant has already been made legal, it’s easy to see how marijuana-tourism could be a boon for Jamaica’s travel industry.
(Via The Verge)
