Last year I send this proposal to the Chairman of the Cannabis Licensing Authority and some other officials and associates
Bear in mind that even to do this limited area would require a special license. To do the area the minister is talking about would require more authorities to be involved and make it much harder to manage.
Using a limited area as a pilot would enable us and the authorities to learn how to manage and control and if it is successful then it could be extended..
One Love Drive – A Roots, Herb & Wellness Enterprise Zone
Introduction
It is our understanding that the Committee is open to the acceptance and presentation of proposals. Especially one that gave every single Jamaican a chance particularly those who have been at the forefront of the struggles for legalization to participate in their own way without having to pay expensive fees and deal with government red tapes; in this new and developing industry.
We propose herein the designation of the western part of Negril, Westmoreland – commonly known as “The West End” and properly named One Love Drive, and it surrounding area as a “Roots, Herb and Wellness Free Zone”. One Love Drive businesses, residents and other Jamaicans within the Free Zone would be permitted to augment existing or create new business while being permitted to freely grow, produce, process, sell and use herb (marijuana), hemp and its by-products within the geographically designated area. We are uniquely situated for this designation with about four miles of micro, small and medium size (MSME’S) businesses facing the Negril sea and at the back is the farming community of Orange Hill which is renown for the best herbs, (marijuana/ganja/cannabis) in Jamaica.
One Love Drive
One Love Drive is an area composed of an eclectic mix of primarily micro, small and medium businesses servicing the local and tourism trade. The local economy consists mainly of boutique hotels, health spas, restaurants, bars, retail (hardware, clothing, souvenirs, grocery, haberdashery, art) and various local and tourism services – laundry, weddings, cambio/lottery, watersports, health – and small family businesses – cottage and room rentals, some fishing, some fruit and vegetable sellers. Agriculture is limited and production/manufacturing is negligible.
The west end of Negril was once a thriving and growing community – a Jamaican jewel - attracting tourists and locals alike since the 1960’s to its laid-back, more authentic feel, its vibrant entertainment offerings and roots offerings – ital restaurants, roots reggae music and an eclectic mix of residents – expats from all over the world, Rastafarians and locals with historic family roots all living harmoniously in the one area off the beaten trail of the opposing Seven Mile Beach. Tourism was the main draw for many years, helping to sustain the MSME’S-economy. Now, One Love Drive has one major tourist attraction – Rick’s Cafe – that brings thousands to the area each year, but they are mostly on one-stop tour buses from other parts of the island that do not stay long enough to support much of the local businesses other than Rick’s itself.
Despite challenges, One Love Drive encompasses a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship – a broad mix of craftsmen, farmers, healthcare providers, retreat owners, retailers, restaurateurs, musicians, hoteliers and service providers. One Love Drive offers the demanding tourist 5 star dining or an ital vendor with a wooden cookshop on the side of the road. We offer 5 star hotels like The Rock House and The Caves, alongside hostel-like accommodation and small cottage rentals.
Sadly, despite some new business development, One Love Drive has suffered continuing economic decline during the past number of years, and despite applauded and nationally recognised efforts of the West End Business Cluster to build infrastructure and to invest in its growth, One Love Drive continues to experience insufficient development, investment and tourism.
The continuing expansion, development and ongoing success of all-inclusive resorts on the beach have impacted West end hoteliers, retail and eating establishments alike by drawing visitors exclusively to their properties and more and more away from the One Love Drive and its offerings. Also missing from this mix is agriculture and industry – production, manufacturing and processing – the area craves job creation and opportunity to uplift the community to an acceptable level of self sufficiency.
The Noise Abatement Act eliminated late night and regular entertainment offerings for which we used to be famous, to the point where few venues now exist. The planned crack-down within the parish on street vending will further erode the means by which our community members are able to make an acceptable income.
The rising crime rate is evidence that people are desperate for opportunity and change; a means to create income and stability to keep up with the rising cost of living.
Opportunity
We propose within a partial solution to counter this decline while at the same time offering an opportunity for the government to create a controlled, designated geographical area within which they can gauge the effectiveness of policy (or absence of policy) surrounding the legalization of herb (marijuana/ganja/cannabis) and its by-products in a full-spectrum micro, small and medium size business-economic environment.
The framework would include growing, production, processing and sale of herbs and its by-products in the context of wellness, relaxation and roots medicine. We would call this Designated Area Herbs, Roots and Wellness Free Zone – The One Love Drive Village – and watch it develop into one of the most sought-after investment and tourism hubs in Jamaica.
Benefits to the Community & Government
Within the community, we anticipate numerous benefits in terms of economic growth with the Wellness Free Zone status. Colorado boasts the fastest growing community in the United States and its unemployment rate is at a 6-year low since legalizing herb, (marijuana/ganja/cannabis). Colorado also see 11% decrease in crime, no increase in youth use and 10’s of thousands of job creation contrary to what experts where predicting.
In addition to bolstering the organic One Love Drive Village economic platform through increased agriculture and production, The One Love Drive Village area could potentially become a major tourist destination - the ‘Amsterdam’ of Jamaica – while providing the government with a market within which it could limit its exposure to potential problems while testing policy and policing efforts.
We envision the One Love Village Roots, Herb and Wellness Free Zone as a controllable test market to enable the government to collect and analyse data, the results of which could be used to forecast or be compared to economic growth in other parts of the country.
Immediate increases in tourism, retail sales & development, hotel stays, restaurant visits, property sales & development, medical dispensary/medical marijuana businesses, agricultural output, investment in manufacturing and production, manufacturing/production investment would all be expected and in turn, tremendous job creation. Any vibrant, growing and wealthy community in turn increases GDP and revenue to the government in many forms: property and sales tax revenue, increased tourism revenue (airport improvement fees).
Fees for permits issued to growing, processing and retailing/dispensing participants could also be collected, and provide an opportunity to collect economic growth data on a regular basis during the licensing and renewal processes.
We have yet to formally map and identify a coverage area that would impose a reasonable geographical limit, while providing an area sufficiently large enough to sustain agricultural and manufacturing growth. We could either consult with the committee on this aspect or spend further time to identify appropriate boundaries and submit a recommendation at a later date.
Aspects of Control – The Case for Keeping it Simple
Liberal decriminalization vs. Strict control
Of importance to the One Love community is to retain as much of our eclectic and rich ‘roots’ heritage and culture as possible while allowing the locals equal opportunity to operate within the legal framework. It is this unique village culture that has attracted tourists and moderate investment to the west end of Negril for decades.
Everyone should have fair occasion to capitalize on the benefits of designation in the area, not just those existing or new businesses that have the capacity, education and resources to deal with the red tapes of tax filings, collection of statistics, submissions of paperwork and cumbersome applications for permits. We propose that a more liberal approach and simple designation coupled with a straight-forward tiered operating licence fee structure based on business type and size would allow for fair competition, a higher rate of voluntary participation and natural, organic growth of industry and investment.
Stricter control measures and unaffordable permits could bar many individuals and many local businesses, potentially resulting in the exclusion of many locals in particular those who have been at the forefront of the legalization struggles. From literacy and financial restrictions to those cultural benefits resulting from the long-standing traditions embedded in informal, family sole proprietorships - there are many reasons why avoiding too many formalities, permissions, controls and taxes makes sense in terms of allowing full participation and therefore, better-quality data and research available to government.
Section B of this document contains an interesting supporting article showcasing the benefit of a more liberal approach to control and its dramatic success in Colorado USA, versus Washington’s more bureaucratic system and slower and lower economic impact. We also anticipate that a less formal approach relating to the One Love Drive Village would enable faster decision-making within the administration and therefore the positive outcomes to be realized much more quickly.
Conclusion
We feel this would be a tremendous and positive initiative for the geographically designated area but especially for MSME’S on the One Love Drive and beyond to bolster a sector that are in dire need of investment and renewal which has proven potential – to immediately take low-risk, low-cost action – a step forward in the timeline of national ‘legalization’ and to add a shining star to the tourism product of Jamaica but in particular Negril
We feel this framework and proposal to support the designation of the One Love Drive Village – A Herbs, Roots and Wellness Free Zone would be tremendously successful and positive initiative for the community at this time, and include but not limited to the following:
to support and bolster MSME’S and a community with proven potential
to immediately take low-risk, low-cost action limited to within a specific geographical area
to take a positive step forward in the timeline of national ‘legalization’
to create an inclusive, fair and equal opportunity market
to realize increased revenues through property tax, land transfer tax, retail sales tax, marijuana business licensing fees, increased tourism, increased economic health and more
to create an invaluable source of data collection
to keep Jamaica on par with other countries now taking steps forward regarding legalization
to demonstrate conservative, planned and controlled action in the eyes of the world
to add a shining star to the tourism product of Jamaica in particular to Negril to compliment the 7 miles’ white sand beach which is World famous.
To rapid enable technology transfer to the industry at no cost to the government.
Section B - Supporting Articles and Data
Marijuana’s First Legal Year: Thousands of Jobs, Millions in Revenue
Sam Becker
January 8, 2015 The Cheatsheet.com
As a result of Colorado and Washington’s voter-passed initiatives, an entire new industry has sprung to life right before our eyes. Again, the industry itself has been extremely limited in scope, but it had to start somewhere. Nobody quite knew what was going to happen as a result, yet both states have not crumbled at their foundations, there has not been an uptick in crime, and usage rates among the youth has not gone up.
Instead, two competing approaches to legalization have been on full display for the nation to watch. Colorado’s law embraces the free market much more so than Washington’s; it allows any adult to grow marijuana at home, and has been much more liberal in its licensing and taxation plans. Washington, on the other hand, has struggled in many respects to get their market off the ground. More burdensome taxes, regulations, and product shortages have stunted growth so far, although it is expected that the market should reach equilibrium soon.
But what about the numbers themselves? What were the results of the legal marijuana market in 2014 — its first year on the books?
Colorado
Colorado was the first state out of the gates to officially allow legal marijuana retail sales. Beginning in January of last year, the entire country — including the federal government — watched carefully as entrepreneurs, growers, and consumers worked their way out of the black and medical markets to gravitate toward the new industry. One year later, the warnings that Colorado would become a lawless wasteland have proven to unfounded, and things are moving along just fine.
According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the available data (which accounts for 2014 through the end of October) indicates that the state has collected around $40 million in tax revenue, violent crime in Denver decreased for 11 straight months, and traffic fatalities fell. Roughly 10,000 jobs have been created as well, helping employment numbers, and the economy at large.
Washington
While Colorado’s hands-off approach to marijuana legalization has proved to be successful, Washington’s more heavily-regulated market has led to some challenges. Due to rather aggressive tax rates on not just consumers, but on producers, processors, and retailers, many are finding it cheaper to stick to the black market. The licensing scheme for growers has also resulted in product shortages, driving prices even higher, and making product harder to find at retail locations.
The Seattle Times reports that even though 99 retail stores have been licensed to open, far fewer actually have. In King County — home of Seattle, and the state’s highest population center — there are 14 licensed stores. There are also 322 licensed growers in the state. Retail sales kicked off in July, and so far have resulted in $64 million in sales, and $16 million in tax revenue for the state.
The 2014 midterm election and beyond
While Colorado and Washington engaged in their legalization experiments over the course of the year, the rest of the country obviously noticed that things seemed to be working out just fine. So fine, in fact, that voters from two other states decided to pass legalization measures of their own. Alaska and Oregon residents passed initiatives to institute legal marijuana markets, along with voters from Washington, D.C. Alaska and Oregon should see their industries kick off sometime in the next year or so, but it looks as though D.C. voters may end up having to deal with Congress before anything changes.
In addition to those victories for marijuana advocates, medical marijuana communities in many states were granted peace of mind at the end of the year when Congress decided it would end the federal government’s ban. Another small step, but it’s evident that the tides have clearly turned, even in the eyes of the feds.
With so much having happened for marijuana in just one year, it’s easy to get excited about what the future holds. Obviously, several more states will probably try to legalize cannabis during the 2016 election, and the federal government will need to step in and address the situation sooner rather than later. With public support trending towards favoring legalization, and so many economic incentives to keep the markets intact, it’s hard to imagine that the feds would pull the plug at this point.
2016 is looming, and may prove to be an even bigger year for marijuana than 2014. But as of right now, no year in recent memory can even come close to the one that just passed in terms of importance for the marijuana legalization movement.
Study: Marijuana legalization doesn’t increase crime
04/15/14 09:04 PM—Updated 04/15/14 11:18 PM
By Erin Delmore
Three months after Colorado residents legalized recreational marijuana with the passage of Amendment 64 in Nov. 2012, Sheriff Tom Allman of Mendocio County, Calif. – a haven for marijuana growers – warned that an onslaught of crime was headed toward Colorado.
“Thugs put on masks, they come to your house, they kick in your door. They point guns at you and say, ‘Give me your marijuana, give me your money,’” Allman told a Denver TV station in February. His state became the first to legalize marijuana for medical use in 1996; Colorado followed suit in 2000.
But a new report contends that fourteen years later, even after Colorado legalized the sale of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use on Jan. 1 of this year, violent and property crime rates in the city are actually falling.
According to data from the Denver Police Department, violent crime (including homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) fell by 6.9% in the first quarter of 2014, compared with the same period in 2013. Property crime (including burglary, larceny, auto theft, theft from motor vehicle and arson) dropped by 11.1%.
The Cycle, 4/10/14, 5:31 PM ET
Time for politicians to get on board with pot
A study looking at the legalization of medical marijuana nationwide, published late last month in the journal PLOS ONE, found that the trend holds: Not only does medical marijuana legalization not correlate with an uptick in crime, researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas argue it may actually reduce it.
Using statistics from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report and controlling for variables like the unemployment and poverty rates; per capita income; age of residents; proportion of residents with college degree; number of police officers and prisoners; and even beer consumption, researchers analyzed data from all 50 states between 1990 and 2006. (California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996; in the decade that followed, 10 states followed suit. Today that number is up to 20 states, plus the District of Columbia.) They wrote:
“The central finding gleaned from the present study was that MML (medical marijuana legalization) is not predictive of higher crime rates and may be related to reductions in rates of homicide and assault. Interestingly, robbery and burglary rates were unaffected by medicinal marijuana legislation, which runs counter to the claim that dispensaries and grow houses lead to an increase in victimization due to the opportunity structures linked to the amount of drugs and cash that are present.”
The study drew a link between marijuana and alcohol use, surmising that the legalization of pot could cause the number of alcohol-fueled crimes to decline.
“While it is important to remain cautious when interpreting these findings as evidence that MML reduces crime, these results do fall in line with recent evidence and they conform to the longstanding notion that marijuana legalization may lead to a reduction in alcohol use due to individuals substituting marijuana for alcohol. Given the relationship between alcohol and violent crime, it may turn out that substituting marijuana for alcohol leads to minor reductions in violent crimes that can be detected at the state level.”
The pro-legalization group Norml cited a 2002 study by David Boyum and Mark Kleiman arguing that regulating marijuana on the same terms as alcohol “would tend to reduce crime.”
As a growing number of states are moving to legalize the use and sale of both medical and recreational marijuana, public opinion has changed dramatically. A Gallup poll from October 2013 showed that for the first time, a majority of Americans favored legalizing marijuana. The 58% of respondents who said they were in favor of legalization last year represented nearly five times the number who said so the first time Gallup asked the question in 1969.
7 Ways Marijuana Legalization Has Already Benefited Colorado In Only 8 Months
September 13, 2014 by Jeff Roberts.
January 1st 2014 saw the opening of the very first cannabis shop in Colorado as the cultivation, manufacture and sale of the controversial plant became fully legalized. Since then, the state has seen a lot of promising results.
Laura Pegram of Drugpolicy.org wrote in her article, Six Months of Marijuana Sales: Positive Trends Emerge in Colorado, that “even the state’s Director of Marijuana Coordination was quick to note recently that ‘the sky hasn’t fallen‘ since the first retail shops opened.”
Colorado is proving to be a great example of how cannabis legalization can benefit the economy. Although it is still a bit early to make any definitive extrapolations about cannabis legalization, there are a few emerging trends in Colorado that signal good signs for the state which drugpolicy.org has listed on their website:
According to Uniform Crime Reporting datafor Denver, there has been a 10.1% decrease in overall crime from this time last year and a 5.2% drop in violent crime.
The state has garnered over 10 million in taxes from retail sales in the first 4 months. The first 40 million of this tax revenue is earmarked for public schools and infrastructure, as well as for youth educational campaigns about substance use.
There are renewed efforts to study the medical efficacy of marijuana within the state, making Colorado an epicenter for marijuana research.
Cannabis legalization has already yielded some positive stats for Colorado. People in power are realizing there is money to be made. Will Colorado be the guinea pig for the rest of the world to follow suit?
The marijuana industry has developed quickly, generating thousands of new jobs. It is estimated there are currently about 10,000 people directly involved with this industry, with 1,000 to 2,000 gaining employment in the past few months alone.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, who opposed Amendment 64, recently compared Colorado’s economy since legalization to that of other states by noting, “While the rest of the country’s economy is slowly picking back up, we’re thriving here in Colorado.” For example, the demand for commercial real estate has increased drastically, with houses in the state appreciating up to 8.7 percentin the past year alone.
The voters of Colorado retain an overall positive view of the regulated marijuana market, with 54% of Colorado voters still supporting marijuana legalization and regulation, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.
By removing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related offenses, thousands of individuals will avoid the collateral consequences associated with a criminal record. The state is estimated to potentially save $12-40 million over the span of a yearsimply by ending arrests for marijuana possession.
This is yet another bullet in the coffin for cannabis propaganda. We are now at a point where the government has finally realized, or perhaps finally admitted what they’ve already known, how much money there is to be made from cannabis legalization.
On top of that, there is undeniable evidence surrounding the use of cannabis as a means to treat disease. This is the real cherry on the cake. The fact that this widely available plant is showing results in eradicating cancer, today’s most prominent and insistent disease, is monumental when really considered. Could we be on the brink of a massive cannabis-health revolution? If positive economic and social stats keep on rising in Colorado, we could be seeing the beginning of this revolution very soon.
How Has The Legalization of Pot Affected Colorado?
Posted by: Kimberly Kurimski Updated: November 6, 2015
The recreational use of pot was legalized January 1, 2014 in Colorado. It was the first state to legalize the substance and after almost 2 years, here are some facts about the Colorado economy since marijuana legalization:
Colorado’s economy is booming since legalization. Colorado is one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. The unemployment rate is also decreasing and is well below the national average.
Colorado collected $53 million in taxes during the first year after legalization. Although this is lower than economists predicted, it has still helped improve Colorado’s economy.
Contributing to this boost is not only the selling of weed but also paraphernalia like bongs and pipes.
Finding an empty warehouse in Denver is next to impossible. This means that demand for commercial space is high and business is good. It also demonstrates that legalizing pot has had a ripple effect on Colorado’s businesses.
Dispensaries are popping up everywhere, contributing to other businesses like security, marketing, web hosting, etc., (again, the ripple effect).
Delroy Johnson
One Love Drive Community