Junior Spirit Cottle
Head of the Cannabis Revival Committee (CRC)
Junior Spirit Cottle is the oldest active traditional cultivator of Cannabis in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with over fifty-five (55) years of experience in this field. Spirit is the head of the Cannabis Revival Committee (CRC) a traditional cultivator’s organization based in St. Vincent. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Global Forum of Producers of Prohibited Plants.
As a cannabis activist, my focus has been on the necessity of cannabis reform as a vehicle for social transformation. As a trusted expert, I have been requested to participate in national, regional, and international cannabis reform efforts. My unwavering determination for justice is driven by my own experience in the Vincentian Black Power Movement and the consequent eleven-and-a-half years he spent in prison as a political prisoner.
As a social cannabis activist, I was the main organizer of a public protest against the US military-led cannabis eradication exercise in the mountains of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in December 1998 and 1999 respectively.
Currently, I am a community liaison Officer at the Medicinal Cannabis Authority where my main focus is to facilitate the transition of the nation's traditional cultivators from the illicit spaces to a licit framework.