Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai says his country has not committed to working with controversial pharmaceutical brand Phoenix Life Sciences, despite the government signing a memorandum of understanding with the company to do just that.
The deal, seen by Pacific Beat, appears to give the US company, Phoenix Life, which is headed by Australian Martin Tindall, exclusive rights to prescribe its cannabis-based product to treat diabetes, cervical cancer and autoimmune disease.
The MOU says the company would be the country's provider of national diabetes treatment over the next 25 years.
The signed documents also say the government would provide 5,000 acres of land on the island of Santo for large scale cultivation of medical marijuana over 75 years.
But the Vanuatu Prime Minister told Pacific Beat there is no firm commitment from the government to execute these plans.
"There is no commitment from the government yet to implement this," Prime Minister Salwai said.
"We need to do more assessment on this product [to determine] what are the side effects."
Dr Jimmy Obed is a mental health professional from Vanuatu's Vila Central Hospital, and is concerned by the mixed messages coming from the government regarding the deal.
"It feels like there wasn't a lot of consultation or a lot of thought put into this," Dr Obed said.
"There's a push even to the point of amending [legislation] and allowing things to happen before the ground work or safety nets are put in place."
Dr Obed is also concerned that the agreement between Phoenix Life Sciences and the government allows the company to conduct clinical trials on Vanuatu citizens, something he believes the country is not equipped to oversee.
He is calling for the government to hold more consultations with health professionals in the country before doing any more work with the company.