Three charged over 80,812 grammes of cannabis resin as ganja law debate lingers 

By Admin. Updated 10:23 a.m., Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4). 

Three young men will be back before the Serious Offences Court next month after police charged them with possessing, trafficking and importing 80,812 grammes (more than 80 kilogrammes) of cannabis resin.

The case comes nearly eight years after Parliament changed how this country treats cannabis. For many Vincentians, it is a reminder that those changes have limits.

According to a release from the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, officers arrested J’Paul Stevenson, a 23-year-old farmer, and Osai George, a 29-year-old farmer, both of Dasent Cottage, on October 17. Also arrested was Zendee Badnock, a 24-year-old delivery clerk of Old Montrose.

The three were jointly charged with possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, drug trafficking and importation of a controlled drug. Police allege they had 80,812 grammes of cannabis resin, roughly 178 pounds, at Largo Height on October 15.

All three pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Serious Offences Court on Monday, October 19. Each was granted $20,000 EC bail with one surety. They must report to the Central Police Station every Tuesday between 6 am and 6 pm, and they had to surrender their travel documents. Stop notices have been placed at all ports of entry and exit. The matter was adjourned to November 19.

The men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Decriminalised is not legal

Arrests involving cannabis still draw sharp reactions here, especially from those who believe the plant should be fully legal. However, the laws passed in 2018 and 2019 did not legalise ganja. They carved out narrow spaces where it is tolerated or permitted, and kept everything else a crime.

The narrowest of those spaces covers small amounts for personal use. Following amendments to the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act passed in Parliament on July 25, 2019, people found with 56 grammes (two ounces) or less are not subject to imprisonment. Under the amended law, such possession can attract a fine of up to EC$500, and the matter is treated as an educational and health issue.

The amount in this case is more than 1,400 times that two-ounce threshold.

The industry and the amnesty

The two pieces of legislation passed in December 2018 dealt with the medicinal trade and with the farmers who had grown ganja illegally for decades.

The Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, 2018 makes clear that protection from the drug laws depends entirely on following its rules. Section 2(2) states that the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, the Drug Trafficking Offences Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act shall not render unlawful “the supply, possession and use of medicinal cannabis by any person, in accordance with the provisions of this Act or Regulations made pursuant to this Act.”

Every activity in the trade, from growing to transport to export, requires a licence. 

Importation is especially tight. The licensing regulations in the Act’s First Schedule state plainly: “For the avoidance of doubt, only medicinal cannabis products may be imported.”

For unlicensed dealing in medicinal cannabis, section 52(2) sets out a fine of up to $500 for 56 grammes or less, but up to $75,000 or two years in prison for anything above that.

The Cannabis Cultivation (Amnesty) Act, 2018 offered traditional growers a way in from the cold. Under section 8, “no criminal proceedings shall be taken against a qualifying person who complies with the provisions of this Act.” Those who registered could seek a traditional cultivator’s licence, which section 53(1)(h) of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act reserves for citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The amnesty came with conditions. Section 7(1)(c) required growers to stop cultivating outside the licensing system, warning that failure to comply “shall constitute an offence under section 7 and 8 of the Drug (Prevention of Misuse) Act.”

The international picture

The State’s room to manoeuvre is also limited by treaties. In the Objects and Reasons attached to the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, the government cited the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, which commits parties “to limit exclusively to medical and scientific purpose” the production, trade and use of drugs.

The same document is blunt about the Act’s intent. It “must not be deemed in any manner to advocate, authorise, promote or legally or socially accept the use of cannabis for non-medical use.”

That position puts St Vincent and the Grenadines in an awkward middle ground. Small amounts for personal use are tolerated, and licensed medicinal production is encouraged. Yet bulk cannabis outside the system, and imports in particular, still carry the full weight of the criminal law.

END