BVI news reports………While government is making moves to have medicinal marijuana become a revenue-generating measure for the BVI, Minister responsible for Health and Social Development Carvin Malone wants to make it clear that “government has not entered the marijuana business”.
BVI, Minister responsible for Health and Social Development Carvin Malone
He shared those sentiments in the recently-held Standing Finance Committee (SFC) process where Premier Andrew Fahie said government will be both selling medicinal marijuana and collecting tax revenue from the initiative.
According to the 2020 SFC Report, Malone “noted that the correct lingo must be used when referring to this [marijuana] initiative so as to indicate that the government has not entered the marijuana business”, but rather that “the government will be involved in the sale of medicinal marijuana products”.
Premier Andrew Fahie
Implementing the sale of medicinal marijuana in the territory is something Premier Fahie has said will begin as early as this year.
While making statements during the aforesaid SFC meeting, the Premier also noted that the “full projected revenue [for medical marijuana sales] was not included in [this year’s] budget because there will most likely be ‘teething pains’ at the beginning”.
He did not elaborate.
The Premier, however, said farmers would produce five percent of that overall revenue while 20 percent would be earned through ‘retail’. He said another 20 percent would be earned through ‘taxes/import’.
Research has already been presented to government about a specific strand of marijuana that can be grown in the territory.
Roughly 40 acres of land in Paraquita Bay will be used to facilitate the initiative and nearly four dozen farmers will be trained on how to grow the ‘special strand’ of the marijuana in the territory.
