The Marijuana Commission is to undergo further scientific study of the impact of marijuana decriminalization following a meeting with Cabinet officials.
Yesterday (Wednesday), the commission met with officials to present their interim report six months into their establishment.
According to Cabinet notes, the “anecdotal findings that more youth are experimenting with the substance will be determined by scientific approaches and guarantees of confidentiality.”
The Prime Minister Office’s Chief of Staff, Ambassador Lionel Hurst says the team led by Dr Kwasi Tonge from the University of the West Indies would be working to establish that evidence.
“Stop diverting scarce police resources because you see how scarce the resources are, crime out of control. So let’s decriminalize the marijuana, structure it that there are amounts that are approved for private use, but importantly make sure that there is a supervisory mechanism and a clear program in place to prevent the consumption by those who are under age. But what did this government do, this Gaston administration? They huffed the decriminalization plan but they did not look at the prevention to protect our young people and so it’s only now they’re coming after the fact as usual to the realization that they have to take strong actions to prevent the consumption by young people.”
The Commission was set up in December 2023 by the Cabinet with members including psychologist Dr Griffin Benjamin, case management and data officer Audie Browne, researcher and juvenile rehabilitation prospects officer, Victoria Dyer and Bishop Charlesworth Browne, who serves as the Commission’s Public Relations Officer. Hurst says there still is a people who do not understand where they are legally allowed to consume cannabis.
“Yes, it is not legal to carry a spliff in between your lips walking up Market Street, not even on Carnival Monday or Tuesday. That is an illegal activity. But what we have done is that we recognize that many young men, especially, who are being arrested and charged with possession of small quantities of marijuana, cannabis, and we believe that that was too harmful to them, although they did not know it.”
Hurst adds that it is too soon to determine whether the study will produce any legislative or policy changes but argues that the decriminalization of marijuana has seen incredible successes in various industries.
