According to reports in the Jamaica press, more than one-third of Jamaicans who use marijuana as medicine have told their physicians and half of those times, the doctors approve of its use according to reports in the Jamaica Observer.
Pollster Don Anderson indicated this when he highlighted the findings of a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey carried out by his Market Research Services Limited and commissioned by local scientist Professor Henry Lowe’s Biotech R&D Institute and Pelican Publishers. Government MP for North East St Elizabeth, Raymond Pryce, who recently tabled a motion through the House of Representatives to seek the use of small amounts of ganjadecriminalized, chaired the gathering.
According to Anderson, 86 per cent of the persons polled believed that Government had a role to play in revisiting legislation and developing new oversight for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. He further suggestedthat 56 per cent of those interviewed said the prospects for marijuana use for medicinal purposes were good but 15 per cent were more interested in the economic gains from expanded use.
“The predominant factor is that they see it as a benefit for medical use,” he noted.
“This is an important finding; there is use of marijuana for treatment of medical condition. One in every three persons who use ganja for some medical conditiontells it to their doctor and, probably, in 50 per cent of those cases the doctor approved the treatment,” Anderson stated.
Anderson said that 85 per cent of the persons interviewed in his island-wide poll believed “strongly” that medicinal products extracted from marijuana should be made commercially available to those who want the same.
“We are talking about the wide range of products that have been identified should be made available commercially, not just for home use. It should be commercially available,” he said to the press.
According to Anderson, it was critical that it be noted that Jamaicans wanted the laws removed that prohibit the possession and use of marijuana.
Professor Lowe said that his study was the first of its kind in Jamaica and that it could provide critical information to aid legislators in their decision-making on marijuana use.
“The results could also help local scientists and doctors to understand how marijuana is being used locally, inform on research areas for the potential uses of medical marijuana and also provide information on possible products that can be developed from marijuana,” he stated.
Economic benefits
“It could have a multiplier effect by catalyzing other industries, such as health and wellness tourism, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries, agriculture and even the pharmaceutical industry and ultimately transform Jamaica’s fledgling economy,” added Lowe, who is known for his cancer research and development of nutraceuticals using Jamaican plants.
