Medicinal Cannabis is cannabis that is grown and sold pursuant to the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, 2019 that includes the seeds, immature plants as well as all parts of the plant, along with resin extracted from any part of the plant, every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation from cannabis; or cannabis concentrate; that is cultivated, processed, manufactured, distributed or sold under a licence from the BMCLA. As a medicine, it is prescribed and recommended by physicians to provide a therapeutic effect.

Like any other prescribed medication, the administration of prescribed medicinal cannabis will be under supervision and monitoring by your doctor so to minimise harm, or negative interact to a patient. Factors like medical history, allergies, pregnancy, breastfeeding, co-morbidities, other medications that a patient may be taking will all be taken into consideration along with regular checkups.

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.

The Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA) is the sole regulator, that is mandated to create and position the local medicinal cannabis industry as a global centre of excellence in training, certification, research and development and to provide a high quality, accessible and advanced patient-centric environment to qualifying individuals.

The BMCLA also ensures that the safety of the public and consumers of medicinal cannabis and its by-products are adequately protected, by appropriately regulating the importation, sale, distribution, possession, purchase, manufacture, cultivation, transportation and exportation of medicinal cannabis.

Cannabis means all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis including any resin obtained from the plant.