 Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to leave to make a very brief intervention. But before I proceed, I just want to tell the Honourable Member for Shwazel Saltibas that we in Labry will always fly high, compatriot, because we are no longer in the age where people used to travel from St. Lucia to the UK by a boat, and they used to marvel at the sky and say the sky is the limit. For us in the People's Republic of Labry, we are in the aviation age, aeroplanes are always in the sky, and the sky is simply the beginning for us. So be guided accordingly. But as I enter the debate on the bill, Mr. Speaker, I cannot help but remembering the times of Al Capoon. When alcohol was not legal and there was trading alcohol and it was similar to most substances that were not legal, and out of all the chaos and the bloodshed came order because of regulation. I know that we have just set in motion this bill, it will not be perfect, but of course we can always emerge with another version to make it less susceptible to objection. So it's always going to be a work in progress until we get it right. Mr. Speaker, I just wish, as I indicated, to make a very brief contribution to the Regulated Substances Bill, which is before this Honourable House. It shows, Mr. Speaker, that the government is delivering on its mandate, as articulated in our manifesto for 2021, putting you first. Mr. Speaker, the manifesto states, and I wish to quote, in dialogue and consultation with health officials and advocates for marijuana legalization, we shall develop a medicinal and recreational cannabis industry. We shall undertake to do the following. One, provide the necessary resources to create and maintain a sustainable and vibrant market for cannabis, both regionally and internationally, expunge the records of crimes relating to the possession of small quantities of cannabis, decriminalize the use of marijuana to be followed by its eventual legalization, a process. Following up on this, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in his Budget Policy Statement for fiscal year 2022-2023 stated the following, and I quote, Mr. Speaker, my government promised in its manifesto to, one, expunge the record of crimes relating to the possession of small quantities of cannabis, two, decriminalize the use of marijuana to be followed by its eventual legalization, three, provide the necessary resources to create and maintain a sustainable and vibrant market for cannabis, regionally and internationally, and four, allow cultivation of four plants of marijuana for personal and private use. On quote, Mr. Speaker, continue, we have to a large extent delivered promises one and two, Mr. Speaker. I have already apologized to the Rastafarian community for the historical atrocities meted out to them for the consumption and religious use of cannabis as Grinaya bingé. Mr. Speaker, these injustices will be reversed when the appropriate structure is set up for the commercialization of marijuana. Mr. Speaker, the government has formed a stakeholder committee that comprises representatives of the police, members of the Rastafarian community and advocates for legalization and order sectoral interest to develop an appropriate legislative framework for cannabis commercialization. On quote, continue, Mr. Speaker, we do not intend to reinvent the wheel and we'll be learning from our fellow neighboring countries which have commercial cannabis for export. Mr. Speaker, we expect within a reasonable time to export like our neighboring islands. Mr. Speaker, I wish to place on record our deep appreciation to the Honorable Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs who has been responsible for championing this important public policy as I know that this is a matter that was extremely difficult to navigate, Mr. Speaker. Given the strong views on the matter of regulated substances, our government is never shy of dealing with the difficult issues. We always ensure that we do so in a fair and balanced manner and one that reflects the public interest. Mr. Speaker, since coming into office, the Prime Minister has championed the cause of ensuring that the difficult issues, the turbulent pockets that we have to navigate are dealt with very early in a very serious and focused fashion. He does not have a manifesto simply for nice colorful things, but of course as a blueprint, as broad policy recommendations that Wilson government would be able to be distilled into specific policy recommendations to instigate concrete responses within the decision making bodies of government. And this is exactly what is happening today, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a team that delivers and we need to commend the Honorable Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs and the member for Supreme Court. She must be commended. Knowing her beliefs, Mr. Speaker, that she is objective and strong. I know the way she behaves in the Cabinet, Mrs. And she's a no-nonsense minister and member of Parliament for her constituency. Mr. Speaker, the stakeholder committee should also be commended for the input and contributions on this matter. You know, and it's interesting that Mr. DeKair's present in the Chamber whilst we are deliberating on this very important issue. When it was not fashionable for people to call on talk shows and talk about marijuana, he did it. He was not convinced by the many developed countries that say, look, this is a crime and you are going to be crucified. He always called. You know, and I remember somebody saying, DeKair say, I've been smoking for 30 years and nothing has happened to me and they tried to make fun out of it. But I always took him seriously as a serious and sober advocate and today I'm sure that he's pleased to see that his years of advocacy has come to the Parliament in the form of at least an attempt, you know, to ensure we establish order in this particular aspect of things. Mr. Speaker, the global market for cannabis was valued at US $43.72 billion. It is therefore a lucrative and growing market which St. Lucia can benefit from in terms of exports. The global cannabis market size is projected to grow substantially from 57.18 billion in 2023 to 444.34 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 34.03% during the forecast period. This momentum is driven primarily by the increasing recognition that the product may have a range of medicinal benefits. It is also to be noted that the cannabis industry has been growing significantly in the United States of America. The regulated substance bill is comprehensive in scope and breadth in terms of ensuring that a proper and song regulatory framework is established for regulated substances. As indicated in the explanatory notes, Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the bill is to establish the regulated substances authority, regulated substances tribunal, regulated substances fund, and to provide for the licensing of regulated substances. The bill, Mr. Speaker, provides for the establishment of a regulated substance authority, a statutory authority. The statutory body is to be managed by a board of directors, which is the governing body for the regulated substances authority, and to exercise and perform the functions conferred upon the act. That's progressive and liberating, Mr. Speaker. The functions of the authority are outlined in section six of the bill, and the powers of the authority are contained in section seven of the bill. Importantly, Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the minister's public policy function, the minister is responsible for declaring a substance to be a regulated substance. That's section four of the bill. This has to be done by order and published in the St. Lucia Gazette. Section 20 of the bill gives the power to the minister on the recommendation of cabinet and upon consultation with the chairperson of the authority to give written directives to the authority as the minister considers necessary in the public interest. Always keeping the door wide open for consultation and for there to be an exchange of views predicated upon the cross-fertilization of ideas, Mr. Speaker. But two of the bill deals with licensing matters pertaining to regulated substances and deal with interalial licensing requirements, application for a license, approval of an application for a license, types and class of license, conditions of license, renewal of license, revocation of a license, and many other matters pertaining to the licensing requirements. But three of the bill provides for the establishment of a tribunal whose functions include the review of an appeal of a decision made by the regulated substances authority and a dispute regarding regulated substances. And as I prepare to close, I go to part four of the bill establishes a regulated substances fund which is a special fund established in accordance with section 22 of the Public Finance Management Act. So this is not in isolation to our efforts at fiscal sanity in this country and to ensure that things are tied in a way that is focused and we are moving along a particular path of convergence. So Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this fund is to facilitate the operations of the regulated substance authority. The fund of the regulated substance authority is to be governed by a regulatory substances fund board whose composition is as follows. And I think a few moments ago, the Honorable Member for Choiselle Saltibas did speak to a few of them, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, who's the Chairperson, the Director of Finance, the Chief Executive Officer, Representative of the Private Sector, a person with expertise in finance, economics or the related field. Part four of the bill deals with enforcement, Mr. Speaker. This part of the bill provides for the inspection and monitoring of premises of licensed owners of premises. This part also provides for seizure of regulated substances in cases where a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that an offence is committed. So overall, Mr. Speaker, as I close, I am of the view that the regulated substances bill is comprehensive and provides for all of the relevant checks and balances that are required for regulated substances and to help develop a successful, viable regulated substances industry. Mr. Speaker, I now yield the floor.