Gov't addressing banking challenges impacting cannabis industry
Banks are derisking to preserve their corresponding banking relationships, mainly in the USA
Thursday, September 10, 2020
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries is engaging international stakeholders to address the banking difficulties that have been impacting Jamaica's medical cannabis industry. Director of Research Development and Communications at the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA), Felicia Bailey, in making the disclosure at a JIS Think Tank recently, noted that the continued hesitance of banks to deal with players in the local industry remains a challenge. Many major banks are reluctant to fund the growth of medical cannabis out of fear of breaching federal laws in the United States of America. As a result, businesses are unable to attract financing, without which they cannot be licensed. (See also: Cannabis Licensing Authority committed to facilitating import, export)
