Rastafarians opening up Caribbean cannabis farms to build a flourishing medical industry

KINGSTOWN — On Golba Hill in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, just below a cluster of colorfully decorated homes, there are rows and rows of premium marijuana plants.

Gleaming like green gold in the Caribbean sun, they lead up to a crudely constructed hut where cannabis farmer Bobbis Matthews spends most of his time nurturing and protecting his precious field. As he did his routine inspection, removing male plants that could diminish the potency of his crop, Matthews recalled a time, not too long ago, when the idea of a cannabis farm in a residential area was unthinkable.

Like many of SVG’s cannabis farmers, Matthews is a Rastafarian who spent years hiding illegal cannabis fields deep in the mountains and living in fear of US-backed antinarcotics operations that would destroy millions of dollars worth of the plant. “It was hard! At least three times a year, US helicopters would come and tear down the crop. In those days, it felt like you couldn’t even say the word marijuana because just to say marijuana, you could get arrested,” Matthews said.