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JMCC’s Commitment to Protecting Cannabis Strains and Biodiversity in Jamaica

Updated: Jun 12, 2018


As mentioned in CEO Diane Scott’s column, JMCC, through its charitable foundation, announced on May 24 that we have signed an agreement with Jamaica’s National Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology to fund a 10-year study to identify, preserve and protect local landrace strains of cannabis for medicinal use.


The project will be carried out in partnership with the National Commission of Science and Technology, and in addition to JMCC scientists, will also include the Scientific Research Council (SRC), Caribbean Genetics (Carigen), the Natural History Museum of Jamaica (NHMJ), the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and local cannabis farmers/associations/co-operatives.


The overall objective of the study is to apply advanced plant biotechnological, botanical and agricultural methods to identify, analyze and protect indigenous strains of cannabis in Jamaica to support the local and international medical cannabis industries.


As the scientific team has only just begun its work, project steps are to be determined but may include collecting samples of as many strains as possible from existing sources as well as fieldwork, various kinds of scientific analysis, cataloguing and plant tissue preservation. The study process and protocols for each step will be determined by the team in the coming weeks and months.


“This is about preserving the biodiversity of Jamaica’s strains to ensure they are available for future learning and medical research and development, before the opportunity is lost due to over-hybridization,” Diane explained, in announcing the agreement.


JMCC will communicate more details of this important and innovative initiative jointly with our consortium partners as the project progresses.

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