KINGSTON, Jamaica – ********* has been pervasive but illegal in Jamaica for decades, consumed as a medicinal herb, puffed as a sacrament by Rastafarians and sung about in the island’s famed reggae music.

After many years of dialogue about the culturally entrenched ****, and emboldened by changes to **** laws in U.S. states, Jamaica’s Parliament on Tuesday night gave final legislative approval to an act decriminalizing small amounts of *** and establishing a licensing agency to regulate a lawful medical ********* industry.

The historic amendments pave the way for a “******** licensing authority” to be established to deal with regulating the cultivation and distribution of ********* for medical and scientific purposes. Officials say the island’s governor-general will formally sign it into law in coming days.

In addition, adherents of the homegrown Rastafari spiritual movement can now freely use ********* for sacramental purposes for the first time on the tropical island where the faith was founded in the 1930s.

The act makes possession of up to 2 ounces of ********* a petty offence that could result in a ticket but not in a criminal record. Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises will be permitted. And tourists who are prescribed medical ********* abroad will soon be able to apply for permits authorizing them to legally buy small amounts of Jamaican weed, or “*****” as it is known locally.

Peter Bunting, the island’s national security minister, said Jamaica has no plans to soften its stance on transnational **** trafficking or cultivation of illegal plots. Jamaica has long been considered the Caribbean’s largest supplier of *** to the U.S. and regional islands.

“The passage of this legislation does not create a free-for-all in the growing, transporting, dealing or exporting of *****. The security forces will continue to rigorously enforce Jamaican law consistent with our international treaty obligations,” Bunting said in Parliament.

William Brownfield, the U.S. assistant secretary for counter-********* affairs, told The Associated Press days before the vote that “Jamaican law is of course Jamaica’s own business, and Jamaica’s sovereign decision.” But he noted that the trafficking of ********* into the U.S. remains against the law.

“We expect that Jamaica and all states party to the U.N. **** Conventions will uphold their obligations, including a firm commitment to combating and dismantling criminal organizations involved in **** trafficking,” he told AP in an email.

****** has long raged in Jamaica over relaxing laws prohibiting *****, but previous calls to decriminalize small amounts fizzled out because officials feared they would bring sanctions from Washington.

Jamaican officials now hope that the island can become a player in the nascent medical ********* industry, health tourism and the development of innovative ***-derived items. Local scientists already have a history of creating *********-derived products, such as “Canasol,” which helps relieve pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients.

Commerce Minister Anthony Hylton said a regulated ******** industry holds “great potential” for Jamaica, where ********* has long been grown illegally on mountainsides and marshes.

On Wednesday, Colorado-based United ******** Corp. said it has launched a partnership with Jamaican agencies to launch a ********* research and development facility on the island that they hope will lead to patents and medical ******** products.

The move by Jamaican lawmakers adds to an international trend of easing restrictions on ********* for medical or personal use. More than 20 U.S. states allow some form of medical ********* and last year Colorado and Washington legalized personal use. On Tuesday, Alaska became the third U.S. state to legalize the recreational use of ********* for adults.

In the Americas, Uruguay last year became the first nation to create a legal ********* market. In Argentina, personal possession of ********* was decriminalized under a 2009 ************* ruling that jail time for small amounts of drugs violates the country’s constitution. A law in Chile permits use of medical *********.

Details of Jamaica’s licensing authority and its hoped-for medical ********* sector need to be refined in coming months. But Jamaican ******** crusaders applauded the amendments.

“This is a big step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” said Delano Seiveright, director of the ******** Commercial and Medicinal Taskforce.