Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

We’ve now found a way forward for medical marijuana — Premier

We’ve now found a way forward for medical marijuana — Premier

The government has made headway with the United Kingdom as it relates to developing a medical marijuana industry in the British Virgin Islands.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley advanced talks with the UK on the subject matter when he and a local delegation travelled to London on official business last week.

“I was also very pleased that the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the UK Home Office had very good discussions with my delegation on medicinal cannabis; particularly with respect to the licensing of medical practitioners in the Virgin Islands to administer medicinal cannabis to patients. We have found a way forward on this aspect of medicinal cannabis and we are proceeding to put the necessary regimes in place for approvals. I’m grateful to the UK government for their support in this area,” the Premier said during a press conference on Monday.

Based on indications from Dr Natalio Wheatley, the BVI may not need to rely on the Cannabis Licensing Act — the legislation that sets the framework for the establishment of a local medical marijuana industry — to get things started. The Act has been wrapped up in UK red tape for almost three years now.

“As you know, there was the Cannabis Licensing Act that was due for assent. We’ll have discussions as to whether that’s the way we want to go right now because we have legislation on our books that allows the Minister for Health to be able to create regulations that will essentially allow for cannabis to be legally administered in the BVI,” the Premier explained.

Those regulations exist in the Virgin Islands (Drugs Prevention & Misuse) Act. Sections 5 and 6 of this legislation prohibits the importation, exportation, or production of controlled substances such as cannabis into the Virgin Islands.

But according to Section 9 of that same law, the Minister of Health may by regulations exclude such controlled drugs from being prohibited and “make such other provision as he or she thinks fit for the purpose of making it lawful for persons to do things which under the following provisions of this Act, that is to say sections 6(1), 7(1) and 8(1), it would otherwise be unlawful for them to do.”

In the meantime, Premier Wheatley said he intends to, as soon as possible, engage with the Governor’s Office as well as the Cabinet on how they can approach cannabis legislation moving forward.

Premier further explained that the UK’s interest in the issue is about ensuring the BVI has the expertise and the regime in place to ensure the territory rolls out the medical marijuana industry responsibly.

“That’s something we are committed to as well because, of course, we know that any substance can be abused and it’s important that we have structures and regimes in place to ensure that, that abuse doesn’t take place here in the Virgin Islands; to ensure that access to drugs is controlled and regulated properly.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×