For a very long time, small farmers in the hills of Jamaica grew weed, called ganja, even though it was against the law. They worked hard, took huge risks, and made Jamaican ganja famous all around the world. When the government finally started making cannabis legal, everyone thought these same farmers would finally be able to make good money and live better lives. But that big promise never came true.
The truth is, these traditional growers are being pushed out of the new legal business on purpose.
The government recently said small farmers could get special legal permits for free, but a piece of paper does not really help them. To actually sell legal ganja, the rules say a farm must have expensive high-tech security cameras, tall fences, and costly laboratory tests. The small farmers do not have this kind of money, but rich companies and wealthy investors do. The rules were written this way on purpose so that only rich corporations can play the game.
The big bosses even tell small farmers they should just grow the plants and sell them cheap to giant company farms. This means the small farmers do all the dirty, hard work in the hot sun, while the rich companies take the crop, put a fancy label on it, and keep almost all the money.
The people who once fought against cannabis and had the police arrest small growers are now the ones getting rich off it. The small farmers who built Jamaica’s ganja culture from the ground up brought the feast to the table, but the system was purposely rigged so they never get a seat to eat.
Dabbin-Dad Newsroom
