Cannabis has been used for centuries for medicinal, spiritual, and recreational purposes. It faced increasing scrutiny in the 20th century, leading to international prohibition efforts.

CARICOM acknowledged the increasing need for discussions and the need to collect qualitative data on the topic of cannabis throughout the Caribbean. So, in 2014 at the 25th Intercessional Meeting, held in St. Vincent, the Heads of Government of CARICOM Member States mandated the establishment of a Commission to interrogate the issue of possible reform to the legal regimes regulating cannabis/marijuana in the CARICOM countries.

The Heads of Government considered the folowing items:

• the thousands of young people incarcerated for cannabis use and consumption and them being labeled as “criminals”;

• law enforcement having to act on the law and not on discretion and tolerance;

• the exploration of the traditional medical use of cannabis;

• global legal reform on cannabis classification and use;

• and the regional/Carribean approach to enhance the legitimacy of any policy reform approaches.

In 2018, THE CARICOM REGIONAL COMMISSION ON MARIJUANA produced a report entitled WAITING TO EXHALE - SAFEGUARDING OUR FUTURE THROUGH RESPONSIBLE SOCIO-LEGAL POLICY ON MARIJUANA.

The report being the by-product of rigorous enquiries into the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding marijuana use in the Caribbean and to determine whether there should be a change in the current drug classification of marijuana thereby making the drug more accessible for al types of usage (religious, recreational, medical and research); and recommendations on if there is to be a re-classification, the legal and administrative conditions that should apply.