Saint Kitts and Nevis takes cannabis traceability from seed to bank

by Carol Hira

Saint Kitts and Nevis will track the money in its medicinal cannabis sector as closely as the plants. The Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) has contracted GrowerIQ to run a national seed-to-sale system that records every financial transaction alongside every plant and batch, from the first licence application onward.

The design follows the Federation’s own rulebook. The Cannabis (Medicinal Cannabis Licensing) Regulations, SRO No. 17 of 2022 require every financial transaction connected to a licensed cannabis business to be recorded in the national tracking system, with the Authority holding real-time read access. Regulation 55 names 17 transaction categories, from investments, loans and capital expenditure through rent, salaries and taxes to dividends and banking. The regulation ties the requirement to the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations.

The Authority is putting that system in place ahead of the first commercial licence. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources the Samal Duggins said the tracking system sets the foundation for the structured rollout of commercial licensing, patient registration and research.

“What is recorded properly from day one never has to be reconstructed later,” said Randel Thompson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources. “That is what this system gives the Federation, and it is in place before the first licence is issued.”

“As CEO I am committed to following all compliance regulations as laid out by our very comprehensive Cannabis Act, No. 8 of 2020 and the Cannabis (Medicinal Cannabis Licensing) Regulations, SRO No. 17 of 2022,” said Nadiv Mills, Chief Executive Officer of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority.

“Although it is challenging, this is what it takes to build credibility, sustainability and accountability. Now that we have secured a system that meets our high standards, we can confidently and legally proceed.”

Legal advisor, Saboto Caesar, noted that, “I am indeed grateful to continue to provide legal advice to the cannabis sector in the region as it pertains to compliant banking and cross border investment. The inclusion of a state of the art track and trace system provided by GrowerIQ for the cannabis industry in St. Kitts and Nevis is a reflection of a global best practice,” he said.

“ This will for sure assist the industry in satisfying its national legislative requirements of including a track and trace system and also its international banking obligations to ensure that available technology is utilized to guarantee full traceability of all of the medicinal cannabis industry’s proceeds from seed to bank.”

GrowerIQ’s national seed-to-sale system is an integral component of the Federation’s solution. By embedding traceability into both cultivation and financial operations, the Authority ensures that every plant and every transaction is accounted for from day one.

“Saint Kitts and Nevis wrote the money into its traceability rules, then went looking for a system that could carry it,” said Andrew Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of GrowerIQ. “The Authority set the standard. Our job is to meet it.”

Saint Kitts and Nevis is the third Caribbean government to select GrowerIQ for national cannabis traceability, after Barbados in 2023 and Saint Lucia in 2026. The platform supports EU-GMP and GACP workflows and operates in more than 24 countries and seven languages. Local producers will be trained on the system before commercial operations begin.