ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
THE CANNABIS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022
No. of 2022
The Cannabis (Amendment) Bill, 2022 2 No. of 2022
No. of 2022 3 The Cannabis (Amendment) Bill, 2022
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
THE CANNABIS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022
No. of 2022
SECTIONS
1. Short title .................................................................................................................................. 4
2. Interpretation ............................................................................................................................ 4
3. Amendment of Section 2 – Interpretation ................................................................................ 5
4. Amendment of Section 6– Sacramental Dispensaries .............................................................. 5
5. Amendment of Section 18– Establishment and constitution of the Board of the Authority .... 5
6. Amendment of Section 47–Authorized Medicinal Cannabis recommendations ...................... 6
7. Amendment of Section 57– Types of licences ......................................................................... 7
8. Amendment of section 60– Prohibitions .................................................................................. 7
The Cannabis (Amendment) Bill, 2022 4 No. of 2022
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
THE CANNABIS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022
No. of 2022
AN ACT to amend the provisions of The Cannabis Act, No. 28 of 2018 to increase the type of
medicinal cannabis licence necessary, make provision for sacramental dispensary regulations and
other connected purposes.
ENACTED by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda as follows―
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Cannabis (Amendment) Act, 2022.
2. Interpretation
In this Act –
“principal Act” means The Cannabis Act, No. 28 of 2018.
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3. Amendment of Section 2 – Interpretation
Section 2 of the principal Act is amended by
(a) repealing the definition of “recommendation” and replacing it with the following:
“recommendation” means an electronic or physical counterfoil recommendation that is
issued to a patient under Regulations made pursuant to this Act;”
(b) repealing the definition of “Special Dispenser” and replacing it with the following:
“Special Dispenser” means—
a) a registered pharmacist;
b) a registered pharmacy technician or a registered nurse who has completed the
required training prescribed by the Authority; or
c) any person who meets the qualifications issued by the Authority, in addition to any
training course prescribed by the Authority, and has successfully completed the
required training.”
(c) by inserting in the appropriate alphabetical position the following:
"telemedicine service" means the delivery of health care services through the use of audio or
video technology, permitting real-time communication between the patient at the originating
site and the provider, for the purpose of diagnosis, consultation, or treatment.”
4. Amendment of Section 6– Sacramental Dispensaries
Section 6 of the principal Act is amended in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) by repealing
paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and replacing it as follows –
“(a) follow all regulations guiding sacramental cannabis dispensary operations;”.
5. Amendment of Section 18– Establishment and constitution of the Board of the Authority
Section 18(2) of the principal Act is amended—
(a) Section 18(2) of the principal Act is amended by repealing subsection (2) in its entirety and replacing this with the following –
“(2) The Board is constituted as follows—
The Cannabis (Amendment) Bill, 2022 6 No. of 2022
(a) an attorney-at-law with ten years or more experience in practice;
(b) a medical practitioner with ten years or more experience in practice;
(c) a businessperson with extensive experience appointed by the Cabinet; and
(d) two members appointed by the Minister, representing relevant interest groups in
Antigua and Barbuda including but not limited to the following—
(i) agricultural services;
(ii) the Rastafarian Community.”;
(b) by inserting after subsection (4) the following new subsection –
“(5) The quorum of the Board shall be three including the Chairperson.”
6. Amendment of Section 47–Authorized Medicinal Cannabis recommendations
Section 47 of the principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following new
subsection–
“(2) The Minister may prescribe by Regulations the procedure for recommending non-
prescribable medicinal cannabis by telemedicine service.”
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7. Amendment of Section 57– Types of licences
Section 57 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by inserting after paragraph (j) the
following new paragraph –
“(k) a Medicinal Collaborative Grow Licence which shall be issued to a company owned by
five persons or more where such persons shall be citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and the
company may hold no more than three types of licences.”
8. Amendment of section 60– Prohibitions
Section 60 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by repealing subsection (2) and
replacing it as follows –
“(2) A patient or caregiver shall not knowingly obtain, seek to obtain, or have in their
possession, individually or collectively, an amount of medicinal cannabis from an authorized
dispensary that would cause either the authorized patient or the caregiver to exceed the
prescribed amount or recommendation that they are authorized to have in their possession.”
Passed the House of Representatives on
The day of , 2022.
Passed the Senate on the day of
, 2022.
Speaker
President
Clerk to the House of Representatives
Clerk to the Senate
The Cannabis (Amendment) Bill, 2022 8 No. of 2022
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
The purpose of this amendment to the Cannabis Act, 2018 is to introduce important provisions to
the principal Act that are geared at improving operations for the medicinal cannabis industry in
Antigua and Barbuda. An example of a progressive step taken is to introduce the concept of
telemedicine. In light of our ongoing Covid-19 pandemic crisis, this concept will help to facilitate
the ease of business whilst helping to reduce the spread of the disease between medical
practitioners and patients. As the medicinal cannabis industry in this country grows, it is important
to strengthen our legislative framework whilst being able to deliver the medicinal benefits of this
product to the people of Antigua and Barbuda who need to benefit from it. This Bill further seeks
to create new job opportunities for the citizens and nationals of this country whilst maintaining an
enforced legislative framework to regulate and monitor the control of medicinal cannabis. In light
The clauses of the Bill are as follows:
Clauses 1 and 2 – Short Title and Interpretation-which identifies the principal Act as the
Cannabis Act 2018.
Clause 3 – Amendment of section 2 of the principal Act - which is the section dealing with the
Interpretation of various words and phrases used in the principal Act. In this section, the definition
of “recommendation” was reworded to include the word ‘electronic’ to address the modernization
of the Act with the concept of telemedicine and a new definition of “Special Dispenser” was
introduced. This is because the role of a Special Dispenser is necessary but it is contained within
the confines of non-prescribable medicinal cannabis, a type of medicinal cannabis that is
recommended by a trained medical professional. In this definition, a registered pharmacist is
included by default because such a person is already competent with the registered qualifications
to dispense non-prescribable medicinal cannabis. Therefore, the inclusion of the new category
allows for Antigua and Barbuda to create new employment opportunities for individuals desirous
of becoming Cannabis Professionals.
This clause also introduces the incorporation of telemedicine into the medicinal cannabis process
which improves the overall efficiency of interaction between patients and healthcare providers.
This creates the opportunity for medical practitioners to assess whether or not the patient needs
treatment. It also reduces the overall cost of the medical service and medicine.
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Clause 4 –Amendment of Section 6– Sacramental Dispensaries- This clause seeks to allow for
the provision of separate Regulations to regulate Sacramental Dispensaries. The Authority, after
consultation with the sacramental community, will establish operational guidelines for the
management of sacramental cannabis dispensaries to support their constitutional rights.
Clause 5 – Amendment of Section 18– Establishment and constitution of the Board of the Authority- The purpose of amending this section is because the cannabis industry is a daily
evolving sector which requires daily operational management and decision-making to become a
priority of the Board. To support operational efficiency and effectiveness, the Minister will appoint
competent individuals whose main priorities will also include the Medicinal Cannabis Authority.
The strategic restructuring of the Board reduces the expenses for this infant Authority and will
create the opportunity for alliances with other local authorities and agencies, when relevant. The
new quorum will be a minimum of at least three (3) members.
Clause 6 –Amendment of Section 47–Authorized Medicinal Cannabis recommendations-
This amendment ensures that the process is standardized by providing for the Minister to be able
to make Regulations governing how a patient may receive a recommendation for non-prescribable
cannabis via Telemedicine.
Clause 7 – Amendment of Section 57– Types of licences- This amendment provides a strategic
approach to ensure that the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda become involved in the ownership of
the industry. To encourage and support a culture of business collaboration and commitment and to
promote the development of corporations amongst Antiguans and Barbuda.
Clause 8 – Amendment of section 60– Prohibitions- This amendment provides for the inclusion
of the word “Recommendation” which incorporates non-prescribable cannabis that shall be
recommended to an Authorized patient or caregiver.