ON THE WAY: Government to advance comprehensive suit of cannabis legislation

ON THE WAY: Government to advance comprehensive suit of cannabis legislation
(FILE)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Attorney General Ryan Pinder said yesterday that government intends to advance a comprehensive suite of legislation on the regulation of cannabis, which will create a new agri-business industry in The Bahamas.

During his contribution to the budget debate in the Senate yesterday, Pinder said: “This legislation is internationally benchmarked against the countries around the world in the industry. The framework will be for the regulation of the medical cannabis industry from the farm to the border, and will also provide a separate regulatory framework for industrial hemp, wellness products, and for pure industrial uses such as clothing, rope, and building materials made from hemp.

“We will also provide a framework for the de-criminalization of possession of small amounts of cannabis products.”

Also on the legislative agenda, Pinder noted, is an amendment to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to expunge records of minor offenses due to violations of emergency orders.

Further, Pinder said that under the Carbon Exchange Bill 2022, government will seek to monetization of carbon credits, we will be bringing to Parliament specially drafted legislation to establish a carbon credit exchange in The Bahamas.

“The desire is to create a regulated framework that will establish The Bahamas as the regional, and hopefully the global center for the trade in carbon credits,” he said.

“We will participate in the vertically integrated carbon credit marketplace, The Bahamas is a leader in the world on this issue.”

The Attorney General also noted that the government will introduce the Mining Authority Bill 2022 which he described as a “long overdue piece of regulatory reform” governing the mining of natural resources in The Bahamas.

Pinder said: “The approach now is an industry-led approach without a modern regulatory envelope to ensure best international standards are being followed in natural resources mining. We are a country where there is a foreign direct investment in real estate development projects, many of these require mining.

“We also have commercial aggregate mining. We will be presenting an international best practice benchmarked legislation to oversee mining in The Bahamas, another fulfillment of Our Blueprint for Change.”