The first cannabis consumption lounge in St Vincent and the Grenadines opened at the Coconut Grove Beach club, with people obtaining permits to buy cannabis products for a year, after an onsite consultation with a physician.
“Today, we’re launching Greenhouse Café, which is a cannabis consumption lounge, the first of its of its kind in St. Vincent and in the Eastern Caribbean,” Marie Helene Tremblay, general manager of Medicinal, a medical marijuana company in the country, said at the launch at Canash Bay.
Tremblay, who holds a doctorate in organic chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, said her company decided to conduct a clinic during the launch “so that we give access to cannabis and easier access to cannabis.”
Therefore, the company invited Dr. Roger Duncan, who is also medical officer of health, Dr. Jose Davy, the government’s infectious disease specialist and Dr. Francois Truchot, one of the nation’s leading dentists, to do consultation with patients.
“Once the patient has a prescription for medicinal cannabis, they then can go see the Medicinal Cannabis Authority to obtain their cannabis ID card that is valid for a year in St. Vincent,” Tremblay said, referring to the state agency that regulates the medicinal cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
At the dispensary, patients can purchase products ranging from an EC$15 “THC pre-roll” to a 1,500 ml HTC Tincture for EC$200. Other products include CDB Heal Lotion, CDB Vape (“Lift,” “Calm” and “Taste”).
Davy said most of the patients she saw at the event had complained of chronic pain.
She said chronic pain generally, mainly arthritis, tops the list of complaints among people for whom medical marijuana is prescribed.
Davy said she would consider medical marijuana for patients who had tried classic medicines and they didn’t work for them.
Or the patient may have these underlying conditions such as stomach issues, which could result in stomach bleeding if they take many painkillers.
Tessa Glass, manager of K Group, which owns Coconut Grove, told CMC the beachfront development was “a whirlwind project,” which was originally conceived last November with cruise ships in mind as there was a demand for bubble facilities as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted regular access to beaches for cruise ship passengers.
“So, we thought that would have been the target market, but we quickly realized that the locals loved it more or loved it just as much. So, we opened it up to the locals and were really happy that we did that,” Glass said.
She noted that people could complete the entire process of accessing medicinal cannabis at Coconut Grove.
“So, we tried to simplify the process as much as we could for the public, so that you can get your prescription from a doctor here, meet with a doctor in the privacy of one of the cabanas out there. And then you can buy your prescription here and actually consume it in here. And you can also access your cannabis card from the medicinal authority.”
Among the people at the launch was Minister of Agriculture and Industry, Saboto Caesar who emphasized that he was there “purely, as an observer, not a participant.”
He said he was happy to see that the law was being adhered to.
CMC/
