By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. April 5, 2016: As the US DEA considers reclassifying cannabis aka weed, aka marijuana, aka ganja, as not the most dangerous after all, production of the drug according to the World Drug Report continues to grow. This as a new report by a leading marijuana industry investment and research firm ArcView Market Research found legal cannabis sales jumped 17%, to $5.4 billion, in 2015 and they will grow by a whopping 25% this year to reach $6.7 billion in total U.S. sales. So where are the top marijuana producing nations in the Caribbean and Latin America?
1: Mexico
Mexico is deemed the major producer of marijuana in Latin America, as well as of heroin and methamphetamine destined for the United States, according to the U.S. State Department. Mexico’s cannabis cultivation is put at 7,400 metric tons. Mexico’s government has said it could legalize certain forms of medical marijuana.
2: Paraguay
Paraguay is also one of the largest source countries of marijuana in the Western Hemisphere, according to the U.S. State Department. Most of its marijuana – an estimated 5,900 metric tons – is exported to Brazil and Argentina. The majority of marijuana is grown along the Paraguay-Brazil border. Specialists say that marijuana grown in Paraguay is in great demand because of its high potency.
3: Jamaica
Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States and local Caribbean islands, the U.S. says. Jamaica marijuana resin (hashish) production total is equal to 3% of the global total, putting it in the top 10 nations globally to produce the most weed. Cannabis cultivation is the highest in the mountainous regions. Drugs flow from and through Jamaica by maritime conveyance, air freight, human couriers, and private aircraft. The government of Jamaica recently passed a law giving partial legalization to cannabis and hash used for medicinal purposes.
4: Colombia
Colombia in South America is also considered a major producer of illegal marijuana in addition to cocaine. Much of the marijuana farming according to the U.S., is concentrated south of Cali, the nation’s third-largest city, in mountains controlled by Marxist rebels. Colombia has legalized the use of medical marijuana but stated that it has no plans to legalize the use of marijuana for recreational or commercial reasons.
5: St. Vincent & The Grenadines
St. Vincent & The Grenadines in the Eastern Caribbean continues to be a primary source for cannabis cultivation in the EC, with most plants being grown for export. The United States claims that the archipelagic nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is “the source for the majority of cannabis” in the Caribbean. St. Vincent and the Grenadines cannabis cultivation is the highest in the mountainous regions, according to the State Department.
