Good Evening,

The legalizing of marijuana would make Barbados a greater tourist destination.

I believe it would also help reduce the level of violence in Barbados. Two reasons why. 

First 'blocks' or individuals who have issues with their marijuana business can report it to the authority instead of taking it into their own hands.

Secondly violence would deter tourists from conducting business with these same individuals, therefore it would be within their own interests to clean up their act.

Submitted by Zachary Callender

Greetings in the name of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I.

First, I give thanks for the vision that provides all Barbadians an avenue through which to express our ideas for the betterment of our country. It is a welcome change from the previous practice of engaging only the party faithful at constituency meetings.

I write to express my appreciation of the fact that the present Government has, first through its manifesto then since assuming office, addressed the issue of cannabis.

My understanding is that Government intends to hold a referendum on the question of decriminalisation/legalisation. I respectfully submit that this is not the best approach, for the following reasons.

1. A referendum is, to my understanding, a costly and lengthy affair. At this point, we have extremely limited resources and time is not on our side. A Peter Wickham poll has already established that 52 per cent of those polled support decriminalisation. I say time is not on our side because each passing day, families are shattered, lives are damaged and futures are stained because of the archaic and unjust laws applying to cannabis. I do not think that as a society we should sit by and watch a high percentage of our youth being criminalised because of a plant which the present Government sees as something which can contribute to the good of our country.
2. The experience of the United Kingdom shows us clearly that a referendum does not always go the way which is desired or intended.
3. Let us say that the proposed referendum takes place in a year’s time. That would be a year lost in the move to benefit as the world is doing from the use of the cannabis plant. The larger countries are all lining up to take advantage of the poly-industries that cannabis provides. Barbados has the ideal climate, soil and accessibility to make it a major player in the cannabis and other related industries. Ganja tourism, as it is called, can be a major source of income.

I propose:

1. An immediate moratorium on arrests for cannabis possession and cultivation, along with trading.
2. Immediate release of all those incarcerated for cannabis crimes.
3. Expunging of the criminal records related to cannabis. A criminal record in Barbados is most often a millstone around the necks of those affected, with the possibility of free travel severely compromised, if not completely negated.
4. After a year, the situation can be reviewed, preferably by a broad-based committee.
5. It simply does not make sense, neither is it just, to continue to penalise people for cannabis while at the same time acknowledging some benefits.
6. I must point out that talking about “medical marijuana” is tantamount to talking about wet water. Cannabis is, by and of itself, medical and medicinal. Day by day, more of the world’s “experts” are coming to the conclusion that as is written in the Good Book “the leaves of this tree are for the healing of the nations”.
7. Let us not waver in our resolve to truly liberate our people. A properly run cannabis industry has the potential to significantly improve Barbados’ economic and social situations within five years. Let us not miss the train. I stand ready to give my assistance in this effort.

           One Love

      Peter “Adonijah” Alleyne BSS.

Good morning,

The blog post below was originally released in 2016 providing some basic Caribbean context to the attached report on regulating marijuana in California.

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This post is focused on the potential regulatory implications for Caribbean governments that aim to legalize marijuana. Insights were gleaned from the recent report on “Regulating Marijuana in California” by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPI) and Carnevale Associates to craft this paper.

Although California has different demographic, cultural, and legal infrastructures compared to countries in the Caribbean, the authors have presented a valuable framework for any Caribbean government to make practical decisions for their home country.

Considerations

The Carnevale report assesses the approaches and lessons learned from the implementation of recreational use laws in Washington State and Colorado and provides loose regulatory guidance to California across five key areas. This post attempts to provide some basic regional context in each of the five areas to foster public discourse on the topic. I’ve also included two additional themes for consideration.

1: Cultivation, Production, and Processing

As in California, there is an interest in the region for avoiding the diversion of legally cultivated marijuana into illegal markets within a country. There is also the concern of diversion to illegal markets across geopolitical borders. Last, there is considerable concern regarding preventing access to minors. Research has been clear on the effects of marijuana on brain development and learning in minors. The report recommends an incentive-based regulatory framework that the shifts use to the legal market, and a “seed to sale” tracking system to manage the flow of legally cultivated product.

2: Sale, Consumption, and Possession

Proponents of legalization have long advocated for lessening the criminal justice burden on economically underprivileged communities and touted the potential cost savings to the system as a result of reducing the court and policing costs. However, the cost savings have to be balanced against the cost of the infrastructure necessary to regulate the sale, consumption, and possessions of marijuana. As mentioned above in point number 1, if the goal is to also limit access to minors, countries must fund effective enforcement systems.

The Carnevale report has summarized regulations across States that have passed legalization legislation in TABLE 2 below. One interesting caveat of specific relevance to the region is the interest in drug tourist distinction legislation. Countries must decide what portion of the legal marijuana produced would be allotted for non-resident use, and at what rate it would be taxed.

3: Taxes and Finance

Marijuana taxes can be a revenue generator and a public health tool to reduce harmful use across the population. Much as with the cigarette tax approach, countries must balance the interest of increasing tax revenues and reducing public use with the potential of setting such a prohibitive cost that the public is disincentivized from accessing the legal market and are pushed right back into the illegal market. The report also discusses the considerations of where to apply the taxes, either at the final sale or at various points along the production cycle. The challenge facing leaders in the region is how to keep it simple while embarking on data-driven decision-making processes.

In all instances, each State has earmarked the taxed revenue for various public needs and ongoing enforcement of the marijuana regulatory infrastructure. Current US federal banking regulations provide an additional challenge since federally insured banks are prohibited from servicing this illegal industry.

4: Public Safety and Public Health

As mentioned before, there are several public health and safety concerns to be considered, including the minimization of under-aged use of marijuana. In addition, governments should understand the existing impaired driving data, and be cognizant of the potential impact of legalization on the population and regulatory system. Are the existing impaired driving laws adequate? Does the country have the tools and resources to identify impaired driving? Are policies in place to support a collaborative legal and treatment system such that users are not criminalized and stigmatized more than they already are? Do countries have robust treatment and recovery infrastructures capable of providing necessary services to the population?

5: Governance

A government’s ability to implement, monitor, ensure quality, in such a system, relies on its ability to collect data and track process and program outcomes.  Governments should assess current data collection and analysis capabilities and map the technology needs against the planned legalization implementation plan. They should also build regular performance evaluations into the process to ensure iterative improvements in the system.

Additional Considerations

Regional Diversion

• Consider the case for a collaborative and regional public health policy/regulatory strategy
• Be mindful of creating unintended gray and black markets across the region which could perpetuate drug-related violence and illegal trafficking
• Identify opportunities for cross-island resource sharing: Intelligence, technology, manpower, data, research, outcomes, public health campaigns

Anti-Discrimination & User Protection

• Be mindful that moral social norms do not unintentionally foster discriminatory practices
• Ensure broad stakeholder education and engagement early in the process: Religious groups, unions, etc.
• Directly engage public and private sector employers and law enforcement
• Assess new policies and regulations to ensure equity, and that unintentional biases and discrimination is not built into the new system

With Warm Regards

Ryan R. Springer, MPH