‘Ganja,’ Telecoms Bill for last sitting

A Bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is to come before Parliament at its last sitting of this session scheduled for December 12.
According to a government statement, the bill will be read for the first time and then distributed, suggesting that its passage through the Lower House will not happen before the new year.  
“In as much as the time has come now for this Bill to be contemplated, we anticipate that there’s going to have to be a lot more wider societal involvement before we can get to a position where the society as a whole feels comfortable,” Melford Nicholas, the information minister told reporters Friday.
“But what is not sustainable is the notion that we are criminalising perhaps maybe 60 percent of our young male population for something where we feel that there could be another approach,” he added.
Also on the parliamentary agenda are the second and third readings of delayed Telecommunications Bill and a resolution to ratify the forgiveness of the $101,000,000 in ABST tax waivers granted to Sandals Resort by the previous administration.