Days after Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi announced that Government had begun the statistical groundwork on decriminalising marijuana possession, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh confirmed that he had the authority to grant permission for the importation of medical marijuana.
Outlining the regulations supporting the Dangerous Drugs Act which enabled him to allow the importation of such a product, Deyalsingh stressed that there were no regulations supporting marijuana cultivation and that he did not possess the power to grant a licence or permit for the local cultivation of the plant.
Asked to indicate his position on the issue during yesterday’s weekly media briefing at the Ministry of Health, Port-of-Spain, Deyalsingh revealed that permission had been granted by previous ministers on two separate occasions in the past.
He said: “My understanding is that on at least two occasions in the past, whichever minister it was gave permission for the importation of medical marijuana to CARPHA/CAREC and UWI for research purposes.”
Deyalsingh said persons with research facilities were free to apply for permission to import the product, once they had the requisite paperwork organised.
Another pregnant Zika case
Providing an update on the number of confirmed Zika cases in the country, Deyalsingh said it now stood at 23.
Revealing that a second case of a pregnant woman being diagnosed with the virus had been recorded, the minister cited the doctor/patient confidentiality clause as the reason for his being unable to share the patient’s age, address and details with the public.
With only four chikungunya cases and five dengue fever cases recorded thus far for 2016, Deyalsingh said policy decisions along with the implementation of short- and medium-term measures had led to a drastic reduction in maternal mortality rates.
He praised the actions by public health officials and private obstetricians who had heeded the ministry’s plea to utilise more cost-effective and life-saving measures for both mother and child.
As the start of the rainy season was declared on May 2, Deyalsingh said within the next two weeks, the ministry would be rolling out another programme aimed at further reducing mosquito-breeding sites.
He commended the regional corporations for increasing their efforts to eradicate breeding sites, as he said members of the public were finally getting on board to clean up their homes and businesses.
During the period October 2015 to May 2016, 91 confirmed H1N1 cases were recorded.
The minister said while data indicated vaccination measures had spiked in January which had led to a reduction in the number of cases recorded after this period, the ministry intended to begin vaccinating persons earlier this year as the new flu season was due to start shortly.