Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Workshop for Cultivating Cannabis

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Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Workshop for Cultivating Cannabis

Cannabis Export Jamaica Cannabis Export

On September 23-25, Tacaya will stage a GAP workshop interpreting the Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standard specifically for cultivating cannabis for medical purposes. Players wanting to export medical cannabis should attend. Tacaya, a consulting firm offering services to help local and foreign entrepreneurs get approved for cannabis licenses and help them stay complaint, is seeking to get as many of Jamaica’s cannabis license holders ready to export medical cannabis products.

Tacaya is working with the world’s leading training, testing and certification company to equip Jamaican players with tools they need to compete on the global stage. According to Triston Thompson, the company’s Chief Opportunity Explorer, once export is a reality, we cannot compete with ‘Brand Jamaica’ alone, we need products that can stand the test for quality. This is achieved by implementing globally recognized quality standards and trained teams to remain compliant. To be proactive we should be informed on what the importing countries are requesting. To get products beyond our borders, cannabis should be cultivated using GAP and processed using EU/c GMP quality standards. There are other prerequisites to be met but these two are a must.

According to Thompson, “the biggest opportunity for Jamaica’s cannabis industry in the short to medium term, is in export. Regulation for permitting export is long overdue although promised to be in place by the end of the year. However, if regulations were implemented tomorrow for the commercial export of cannabis flower and oil, many of the current license holders would not be able to take advantage of this grand opportunity. Why? Because importing markets for cannabis, require compliance or certification to EU/c Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) quality standards. I do not know at this time, of any cannabis company with such certifications yet. We however, have begun the process to change that along with license holders that attend our workshops. We host a series of accredited EU GMP and GAP workshops geared toward helping licensed and conditionally approved cannabis license holders move closer to becoming compliant and obtain certification to these standards.”

The successful EU GMP workshop held in May at the University of The West Indies Western Campus, saw license holders participating in an accredited interactive classroom training to interpret the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Pharmaceuticals EU Directive for medicinal products. The workshop specifically targeted the processing of medical cannabis. At the end of the 3 days instructor led workshop, attendees left with accredited certificates of training, equipped to start implementing the standard in their facilities.

On September 23-25, Tacaya will host another workshop focused on interpreting the Global Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) standard specifically for cultivating cannabis for medical purposes. “The global cannabis market is projected to be a $31.7 billion market by 2022 and we want to ensure Jamaica can claim it’s share of the pie. As cannabis industry shareholders, we all have to look out for each other, because when we compete, we are competing with the world, so we are just doing our part.”

Persons wishing to participate in the workshop should send an email to opportunity@tacaya.com to register. Seats are very limited so they are going by a first come first served policy.

When asked if Jamaica missed the boat on cannabis, an optimistic and confident Thompson had this to say “we are not where we are to be; however, the global cannabis industry is in its infancy, so it is rather premature for anyone to say that. Surely the foreign investors that come to us for help with applications for license do not think so, nor does eager local entrepreneurs that we help. Even under our imperfect regulatory conditions, entrepreneurs are making the best of the opportunity. The obstacle to overcome is access to capital. The money we need to see rapid industry development, is sitting in banks that are waiting for rescheduling of cannabis at the federal level in the USA. There is still wealth to be claimed by local or foreign entrepreneurs in partnership with Jamaicans and we are ready to help make this a reality. So far, The Cannabis Licensing Authority has issued 35 licenses and provided more than 184 conditional approvals from more than 600 applications, which we believe to be progressive.”