The Health Ministry is demanding that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) donate a portion of the funds it receives to the Ministry for education and treatment programs.
It comes as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Winston de la Haye revealed in March, that the National Council on Drug Abuse, NCDA, has been denied funding for public education about the effects of cannabis for the past two years.
In its Highlight of Key Initiatives for 2016/2017 the Health Ministry says the dangerous drug act allows for a portion of the CLA’s earnings to be set aside for drug education and treatment.
The Health Ministry is calling for that portion of funds to be made available to its Cannabis Unit– when it’s established — or the NCDA.
The Ministry says its subcommittee at the CLA has been working on implementing medicinal cannabis cards for those with evidence they are using the drug for medicinal purposes.
It also says its working on ethical guidelines for cannabis medicinal research and mandatory continuing education training for physicians.
In the meantime, the Health Ministry says it does not support any form of smoking of cannabis products even for medical use– as smoking anything is hazardous to health.
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