By Linda Straker
Grenadian cannabis/marijuana users seem to have an appetite for St Vincent produced marijuana, as most of the seizures conducted by the Drug Squad within the past years can be traced back to St Vincent.
Head of the Drug Squad, Rodriquez James, said that although they have uprooted and seized thousands of marijuana plants in Grenada’s mountains, most of the ready-to-use marijuana in possession of law enforcement was confiscated coming from St Vincent on boats heading to Grenada, or in the possession of Vincentian nationals on the land.
“They are usually in partnership with locals, and what you find happening is that we may arrest two or three persons, but for sure one is a Vincentian, like happened recently when another successful drug bust resulted in the seizure of 131 pounds of cannabis.
“With the seizure came the arrest of Vincentian national, 34-year-old Javon Arrindelle, and Tyron Flemming, 42 years old, of Mt Rich, St Patrick who have since been charged with possession and trafficking of a controlled drug,” said a news release from the Community Relations Department of the Police. Both men were apprehended during an operation by the Drug Squad on Wednesday, 18 February, 2015 at Savan-Swazee Beach, Bathway, St Patrick.
At present, only four Vincentian nationals are imprisoned at Richmond Hill Prison on drug-related offenses, despite the many that have being arrested and convicted over the years.
“Some have served their time and deported, while others paid the fine in court and deported, but despite our work in that area, there is still evidence that St Vincent produced marijuana continues to dominate the market in Grenada.
Research conducted by agencies assisting in the fight against drug use indicates that marijuana produce in St Vincent is not just a favourite of Grenadians, but also of most islands in the southern Caribbean.
“St Vincent marijuana can also be found in Trinidad, Barbados, St Lucia and to some extent in Dominica. Jamaican produced marijuana is most commonly found in the northern Caribbean because it costs more to bring it to the south,” James said, who explained that only last week a Grenadian and a Vincentian were caught with more than 400 pounds of marijuana in Barbados.
Marijuana has been confiscated on schooners plying weekly between Grenada and Trinidad. “Some while still in Grenada, and others while in Trinidad waters; what we realize is that apart from supplying the Grenada Market, the Vincentian producers and/or suppliers are also using Grenada as a trans-shipment point to transport hundreds of pounds of marijuana to that territory,” James explained.
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