History was created on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies on Monday morning when the first legal ganja plant was planted on the campus. This was also the first time that this was being done anywhere in Jamaica in more than 100 years.
Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy & Mining, handed over the licence to Professor Archibald McDonald, Principal of the Mona campus, giving the institution permission to cultivate the weed for research.
Several ganja seedlings were then symbolically planted in front of the campus' Faculty of Medical Sciences.
Having achieved this milestone, Professor McDonald said it was now time for the university "to apply and ensure that we de-mystefy ganja; we need to use scientific evidence to counter the misinformation that is taking place."
It was important, he added, to "use scientific evidence to really inform the Jamaican public."
The amendments to Jamaica's Dangerous Drugs Act, recently enactec by Parliament, permit, among other things, the cultivation of ganja (marijuana) for scientific research and development of medicinal and other products.
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UWI makes ganja history
12:35 pm, Mon April 20, 2015
Professor Archibald McDonald
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