The differing laws and policies in the region, he argues, make regional trade and movement difficult.

“I believe in Jamaica, you can carry two ounces in your pocket, as part of the decriminalisation. In some of the other territories, it is one ounce. So are we going to make it two ounces or one ounce? For some of these other Caribbean territories, it’s five plants in your household. Is it going to be five plants, or is it gonna be four plants? And that's just two simple examples of trying to harmonise the legislation,” DeCaires explained.

This discussion was part of the Cannabis Symposium held in Saint Lucia, which brought 5 regional nations together. Representatives from St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Jamaica were present for this discussion.

Commerce Minister Emma Hippolyte says the government will include all stakeholders in this dialogue to ensure sector-wide cooperation.

“What we are doing as well is to ensure that we have the various stakeholder groups, local stakeholder groups here, we have persons from customs, the police, education, we have the CMO with us, the Christian Council, all of that is to ensure that the conversation that we are having, all the key stakeholders are present,” she said.

In Saint Lucia, the trafficking of cannabis is still a criminal offense.