Thompson named CEO of the SVG Medical Cannabis Authority

DR JERROL THOMPSON has been named the chief executive officer of the Medical Cannabis Authority in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves on Sunday, during the Issues on Hand radio programme on WE FM.

And Thompson, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday, said that it is “certainly a challenge that I have been willing and quite keen to take on”.

Thompson, who currently serves as the director of special projects in the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the medicinal cannabis is a tremendous opportunity for St Vincent and the Grenadines and the primary purpose of the Authority will be to establish an industry that is healthy, buoyant and efficiently managed.

“Some of the main goals would be that we wanted to ensure that the traditional farmers of this nation are adequately addressed in terms of their whole move from illicit cultivation to one of legal, licit cultivation… using all the measures of due diligence to ensure that the various foreign direct investors and local investors that enter into the market are ones that would be compliant with the regulatory process both local and internationally and that they are equipped technically and financially to gain access and an export product to their target destination,” he said.

Thompson, a former government minister and a medical doctor by profession, also said that the Authority will work with the Ministry of Health and the Environment to train physicians and pharmacists to ensure that medicinal cannabis is dispensed in its correct form and that the methods for administration are available to the patients who suffer from illnesses that have been shown to benefit from medicinal cannabis.

“We’ll essentially chart a course that will ensure that St Vincent and the Grenadines can be proud of the successes that we’ll be able to gain in this industry. The industry is highly competitive and we know there are going to be challenges and we have been able to overcome a number of these challenges and we will be doing things in a well organised, well managed fashion,” he said. We’ll keep the public informed of the activities of the Authority and we want the general public to know – the patients and the business sector the Authority is going to function effectively and at the highest level to ensure that this particular industry is a successful one and is able to achieve the goals as set out in the Act and the policies that we have outlined.”

As the Director of Special Projects, Thompson has worked on a series of projects in this country including those related to renewable energy, information and communication technology and the Argyle International Airport.

But he expects that he will demit that post once the Authority is fully operational.

Three other positions for the Medicinal Cannabis Authority have been advertised in local newspapers.

“We have advertised already positions for an accountant for the Authority, a technologist and a medical officer. We are seeking to get a consultant and we’ll be making efforts to see if we can get that person from the Canadian authorities if possible. If not, we’ll have to buy the services,” the Prime Minister said on radio.