There are two major concerns regarding smoking medicinal cannabis.

Firstly, smoking is a particularly harmful way of taking medicinal cannabis, mainly because it poses comparable risks for bronchitis and lung cancer, as is the smoking of cigarettes. Smoking medicinal cannabis is not permitted by local or international Health authorities.

Secondly, approved medicines used in Barbados are produced under strict conditions to ensure efficacy and safety. It is important that medical doctors know that medicines have been tested and are standardized by dose and therapeutic response. This means doctors can monitor the effects of the drug and doses can be adjusted according to a patient’s needs.

It is understood that smoked cannabis will not be prescribed in Barbados because smoked plant products will not satisfy governmental requirements.

The Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority grants licenses to facilitate the cultivation, processing, transport and dispensing of medicinal cannabis to patients. The Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, 2019 outlines that medicinal cannabis products can be prescribed by a medical practitioner. A Pharmacy with a retail distributor's license can dispense medicinal cannabis when presented by a patient with a prescription and a valid form of identification.

Currently, there are five legally-approved medicinal cannabis drugs, placed on the National Drug Formulary for specific indications, via approval from the Minister of Health and Wellness utilising Section 12 of the Drug Abuse (Control and Prevention) Act Cap 131.

Please speak to your doctor or pharmacist for more information on accessing medicinal cannabis.

• The BMCLA can suspend or revoke a license where:

  • the person issued the license is convicted of an offence under the Act;

  • the person issued with the license contravenes a term of condition of the license granted under the Act.

  • the Minister requires the suspension or revocation of the license in the interest of public health or public safety.

  For more about the Barbados Medicinal Industry Act please click here

Cannabis use is discouraged during pregnancy and during nursing. Substances in cannabis can transfer from the mother to child and can affect your unborn or newborn baby.

Using cannabis frequently (daily or almost daily) and over a long time (several months or years) can[1]:

• Hurt your lungs and make it harder to breathe, if smoked
• Cannabis smoke may contain many of the same harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke
• Affect your mental health
• Frequent use of THC based products over a long time increases the risk of cannabis dependence
• Increased risk of developing psychotic disorders
• Early exposure of cannabis use during the adolescent years can impair brain development and functioning
• Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

[1] Weinstein, AM, Cohen, K. Synthetic and Non-synthetic Cannabinoid Drugs and Their Adverse Effects-A Review from Public Health Prospective. Frontiers in Public Health 2018; 6:1-8. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00162.

There is really no difference between the terms of adult use and recreational use of cannabis. However, the term “adult-use” while is for better optics, it comes from the notion that not all consumers of cannabis are consuming solely for recreational purposes. Cannabis can and is utilized for many reasons that go beyond the recreational/ medicinal cannabis binary.