Will Saint Lucia finally legalize cannabis?

Following a national election that favored cannabis reform, few obstacles now stand in the way of the adoption of one of the region’s most progressive cannabis reforms on the island of Saint Lucia.

While cannabis took center stage during the legislative campaign that ended this week, Saint Lucia is among an increasingly small group of Caribbean countries that have not yet adopted cannabis reforms.

In recent weeks, the government has submitted a report on the proposed reforms through its Cannabis Commission. However, no bill has been introduced, either to decriminalize cannabis possession or to legalize its medical and recreational use. The issue lies in the difficulty of finding common ground between advocates for adult use, those in favor of more modest reforms—such as the decriminalization of possession and the legalization of «medical and religious use»—and those who oppose any reform at all.

«We've worked very hard on this,«, said Allan Chastanet, the outgoing prime minister, at a pre-election forum on July 22. «I think there’s a fairly broad consensus and acceptance of the medicinal aspect of the issue,» he explained, adding that its religious use is also «more or less accepted by everyone. The Rastafari movement, to name just one, has always used it as part of its religious ceremonies, and we must respect that.».

The new prime minister, Philip Pierre, is more optimistic on the issue. His party has pledged to develop «a medical and recreational cannabis industry,« the most progressive reform proposal in the region since the Jamaica has decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis and legalized the cultivation of five plants at home six years ago.

A promise that has so far fallen short on every front. Andre de Caires, a former member of the national Cannabis Commission who has led the push for reform on the island for more than two decades, believes that progress on cannabis reform has been «embarrassingly slow.»

«Five years have passed,» he added. «Yet, even though we have several roadmaps to work on, including a CARICOM report, our politicians have failed miserably. They have been unable to introduce a single bill »in Parliament."

CARICOM, or the Caribbean Community—the region's 15-member economic bloc—has released a report urging governments to take action on cannabis reform in 2018. The CARICOM Regional Commission on Cannabis recommended declassifying cannabis as a dangerous drug in all legislation and reclassifying it as a controlled substance, citing the positive impacts this reform could have on social justice, the economy, health, and governance that this reform could have in the Caribbean.

The most recent survey conducted on the island by Caribbean Development Research Services estimates that 51% of the population supports cannabis reform, while only 38 % want to maintain the status quo.

This emerging industry, whose market could reach 200 million euros, could help the island make up for the losses caused by the halt in tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic.