GREAT BAY--The Cannabis Legislative Inter-Ministerial Workgroup has responded to concerns raised by Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina over mental health, youth protection, treatment capacity, product safety, enforcement and institutional readiness, saying these are not overlooked issues but are central considerations that have shaped the proposed cannabis regulatory framework for St. Maarten.
The Workgroup said the concerns identified by the Prime Minister are precisely the issues it has spent approximately three years examining as it developed the proposed framework, stressing that the objective is not to introduce cannabis into St. Maarten society, where an illicit market already exists, but to determine whether Government can replace the present largely uncontrolled environment with one that offers stronger protections, rules and oversight.
“The Prime Minister's concerns about mental health, youth protection, treatment capacity, product safety, enforcement, and institutional readiness are the legitimate public-policy considerations the work group has been addressing for several years through the draft framework.”
The Workgroup said the existence of these concerns should not automatically be viewed as an argument for maintaining the present situation.
“They are not reasons to leave the existing cannabis market unregulated; they are reasons to ensure that regulation is considerate, targets the issues, evidence-based, properly resourced and properly implemented. That is precisely what this regulation is about.”
The response follows the Prime Minister’s statements during the 2026 Budget Debate that he wants additional information before drawing conclusions on the direction Government should ultimately take on cannabis policy. Mercelina has raised questions about public health, youth exposure, mental health and addiction services, product safety, law enforcement capacity and whether St. Maarten has the institutional ability to properly supervise and enforce a regulatory system.
The Workgroup welcomed the opportunity for those concerns to receive further examination at the Council of Ministers level.
“Though these findings have already been presented to COM, we welcome the opportunity to be able to discuss these points raised by the Prime Minister. Questions surrounding mental health, youth protection, treatment, enforcement capacity, and product safety deserve serious consideration and attention. In fact, these are many of the same issues that the Cannabis Legislative Inter-Ministerial Work Group has been examining in developing the proposed framework.”
The Workgroup emphasized that the exercise should not be viewed as an attempt to legalize cannabis simply for the sake of legalization.
“The objective should not be legalization for legalization's sake. The objective is the prepare St. Maarten to replace an existing largely uncontrolled cannabis environment with a system that provides greater protection, accountability, education and oversight.”
Cannabis Already Exists, Workgroup Says Policy Must Address Existing Reality
A central premise of the proposed framework, according to the Workgroup, is that cannabis is already widely available in St. Maarten. It therefore argues that the policy question is not whether cannabis should suddenly be introduced into society, but how Government should respond to a market that already exists largely outside regulation.
Against that reality, the Workgroup said it approached development of the framework with measurable public-policy objectives rather than focusing narrowly on commercial activity or government revenue.
Among the objectives are reducing the size and influence of the illicit cannabis market, reducing youth access, improving consumer and product safety, establishing controlled medical access and reducing unnecessary criminalization where Government determines that doing so is appropriate.
The framework is also intended to establish enforceable rules governing cultivation, distribution and sale, strengthen education and prevention, improve monitoring of cannabis-related public-health outcomes and establish treatment and referral pathways.
Economic considerations form part of the framework, but the Workgroup said they are not intended to be its sole measurement of success. The proposed system would seek to move existing economic activity into a regulated and taxable environment while creating legitimate opportunities for local farmers, workers and entrepreneurs.
“Success of the program is not measured simply by cannabis tax revenue. The success of the program is to be measured by whether St. Maarten becomes safer, better informed, better regulated and better equipped to address cannabis-related risks.”
Mental Health and Psychosis Built Into Proposed Safeguards
The Workgroup also addressed the Prime Minister’s concerns about cannabis and mental health, particularly the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis.
It acknowledged that cannabis is not risk-free and said a responsible regulatory system should not suggest otherwise.
According to the Workgroup, mental-health risks associated with cannabis differ depending on several factors, including the age at which use begins, frequency and intensity of use, THC potency, a personal history of psychosis or other serious mental-health conditions, a strong family history of psychotic illness, problematic or dependent cannabis use and the use of alcohol or other substances.
The Workgroup said available research demonstrates an association between cannabis use and psychosis, with the association being stronger among persons who begin using cannabis at a younger age, use it frequently or consume high-THC products.
It stressed that this does not mean every cannabis user will develop psychosis. Instead, it said the evidence requires a framework that recognizes elevated risk and builds additional protections around vulnerable individuals and higher-risk consumption patterns.
“Cannabis is not risk-free, and regulation is not suggesting otherwise, on the contrary it is the viable way to mitigate the risks. The evidence warrants particular caution regarding frequent use, high-potency THC, adolescent exposure and persons vulnerable to certain mental-health conditions. A responsible regulatory framework is designed around those risks.”
According to the Workgroup, the current draft addresses mental-health and consumer protection through potency controls, accurate THC disclosure, product testing, restrictions on high-risk products, health warnings and age restrictions.
It also includes healthcare-provider education, public-awareness campaigns, surveillance of adverse outcomes and targeted education for populations considered at increased risk.
The Workgroup contrasted those proposed protections with the existing illicit cannabis market.
“The illicit market provides no THC disclosure, no mandatory health warnings, no age controls, no standardized testing and no obligation to educate consumers about mental-health risks. Regulation gives Government tools to address risks that currently exist without those safeguards.”
Retail Workers Would Not Be Expected to Diagnose Mental Illness
The proposed framework also addresses the responsibilities of persons working in regulated cannabis retail operations.
The Workgroup said retail personnel would be trained to recognize visible impairment or acute distress, provide required health information, refuse transactions when legally appropriate and direct persons toward professional assistance when necessary.
However, it stressed that retail employees would not be expected to diagnose mental illness or determine whether an individual has a psychiatric vulnerability. Those responsibilities remain within the professional healthcare system.
The Workgroup said this distinction is important because regulation should establish clear responsibilities for licensed businesses without attempting to shift clinical responsibilities to retail personnel.
Treatment Capacity Is Part of the Framework
The Workgroup also responded directly to concerns over whether St. Maarten currently has sufficient treatment and referral capacity to deal with problematic cannabis use and associated mental-health concerns.
It said treatment capacity is not separate from the proposed cannabis policy but has been incorporated into the framework itself.
With assistance from experienced medical expertise, the Workgroup said the framework provides for standardized screening protocols, early intervention, primary-care referral pathways and mental-health referral pathways.
It also provides for evidence-based substance-use treatment, professional education and training, data collection and outcome monitoring, as well as public information explaining where and how persons can obtain assistance.
“Treatment capacity is not an afterthought of regulation. It is part of the infrastructure required for implementation.”
The Workgroup said the framework recognizes that existing public-health and mental-health institutions will need strengthening if Government chooses to proceed with cannabis regulation.
Accordingly, the proposed regulation dedicates a significant portion of regulatory revenues to public-health funding intended to strengthen both government and private public-health institutions.
The Workgroup said this allocation is specifically protected within the proposed regulatory framework to ensure that treatment, prevention, mental-health support and broader public-health capacity are not left dependent on discretionary spending after implementation.
It said the intention is therefore not to regulate cannabis first and attempt to build health protections afterward. Rather, public health, treatment and institutional strengthening are being treated as requirements of the regulatory system itself.
The Workgroup said it welcomes further discussion and will be issuing more public information in an effort to dispel sensationalist narratives not based in facts.
