IN JAMAICA: Young entrepreneur, 27 y-o RAVN Rae eyes first medical ganja dispensary in Jamaica.....Rae's store, Mez Jamaica, is one of Kingston's first established alternative smoking supplies shops. Ironically located just a stone's throw away from the Office of the Prime Minister on Devon Road

BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, April 09, 2014    

RAVN Rae aspires to launch the first boutique medical marijuana dispensary in Jamaica. But for now, she settles on being just an apparatus supplier complementing an industry still operating outside the law locally.

"Marijuana is not legal, so I cannot have the product in the store," she stressed to the Business Observer when our news team visited her store on Monday.

Ravn Rae makes a point in discussion at
 her store, Mez Jamaica, on Devon Road
 Turn to DISPENSARY on Page 16 in Kingston.

Rae's store, Mez Jamaica, is one of Kingston's first established alternative smoking supplies shops. Ironically located just a stone's throw away from the Office of the Prime Minister on Devon Road, Mez offers a wide variety of 'pot-friendly' items such as water pipes or 'bongs', chalices and vaporisers.

The store has been open since October last year and its brand has been gaining traction in the nation's capital.

"It was derived out of inconvenience, people having to order online or travel to some other part of the island to get an apparatus," Rae, 27, told the newspaper.

"It was surprising that there was no store of this nature in Jamaica, considering how heavy we use marijuana and how well known we are for it," she added.

Clients vary across a wide demographic of adults 18 and over, with differing preferences in smoking accessories. The vaporisers are among the most popular products, and are especially a hit with the corporate white-collar workers, according to Rae, who noted that the trend has been fuelled by the government's ban on smoking in public spaces.

Vaporisation is an alternative to burning used for the inhalation of the active ingredients from

ganja or tobacco, thus avoiding harmful by-products. There is no second-hand smoke, tar or ash involved, when using vaporisers, as they function similarly to electronic cigarettes.

"I focus heavily on wellness, and with the new smoking ban in place, it has led people to looking at vaporising which is definiely a healthier option than combusting herbs," Rae said.

With decriminalisation of marijuana possibly around the corner, Rae is positioned to capitalise on her dream. Government plans to decriminalise ganja this year, paving the way for the establishment of a medicinal marijuana industry estimated to be worth billions of dollars. more