GREAT BAY--Repairs to seven school gyms and five community sports facilities across St. Maarten are set to begin following the signing of the first of four contracts under the Emergency Recovery Project 1 (ERP1) on April 7.

The Government of Sint Maarten, represented by the Honorable Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina in his capacity as Minister of General Affairs, has today signed a significant agreement with representatives of active and retired Fire Department personnel, bringing long-awaited clarity and resolution to matters of formal placement, career advancement, and retroactive compensation.

GREAT BAY--MP Sjamira Roseburg didn't hold back during Thursday’s reconvened meeting of Parliament’s Permanent Committee of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, CAFAH, as she questioned Native Nations Cannabis SXM for direct answers on whether the proposed cannabis framework would truly create meaningful opportunities for local growers or merely place them in limited roles within a system controlled by others.

GREAT BAY--The main argument made in Parliament on Thursday by native Nations was simple: cannabis is already being used and sold, but right now much of that activity happens outside of government control. Supporters of regulation say that if St. Maarten legalizes and regulates cannabis, the country can stop leaving that money in the underground market and instead bring it into a legal system where it can be monitored, taxed and turned into economic activity for the island.

GREAT BAY--Dr. Joseph Rosado, a Florida physician active in medical cannabis policy and practice, made a strong case in Parliament on Thursday for St. Maarten to move toward cannabis regulation, arguing that a properly controlled legal framework would better protect public health, support vulnerable individuals, strengthen mental health services and replace the current unregulated market with one built on oversight, standards and accountability.

GREAT BAY--Representatives of Native Nations Cannabis SXM appeared before Parliament’s Permanent Committee of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, CAFAH, on Thursday to continue their presentation on the proposed legalization and regulation of cannabis in St. Maarten, telling Members of Parliament that the framework now being developed is intended to move cannabis activity out of the illegal economy and into a controlled, taxable and closely supervised system.