IF anything (again) underlines the sloth that hinders progress in pursuit and implementation of collective decisions at the CARICOM and national levels, the marijuana issue does it.
Unlike other decisions longer in the making, the decision by CARICOM leaders to move to legitimize or decriminalize cannabis and to pursue use of marijuana for medical purposes was taken more recently.
But as always, different countries are at different levels in pursuit of the agreed regional goal, governments differing on everything from the extent to which the product should be legalized for medical and commercial purposes to the pace of implementation.
Antigua and Barbuda has jumped all the guns and is considering a Cabinet presentation by a Canadian marijuana company (See article opposite).
In Jamaica, research and documentation have transcended to development of certified medical uses, even though still in mainly quiet and guarded scientific and research conditions.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has advocated examining the possibility of replacing bananas with marijuana as a regional cash crop, as the latter is not only more lucrative but also much less injurious to the land and the wider environment.
Everywhere else (in CARICOM), while the illegal marijuana trade continues and anti-marijuana sentiment is on a deep wane, the official attitude seems to be to ‘wait and see’ how things will play out.
In Saint Lucia, the DPP’s Office and the Bar Association jointly hosted a discussion at Rodney Bay last night on the topic: Should Saint Lucia Legalise Cannabis?
But as CARICOM governments have already agreed to decrminalise marijuana and since all the parties contesting the last general elections (one way or another) promised to ‘free-up the herb’, there are those who strongly think last night’s discussion should have been about ‘How to Legalise Cannabis in Saint Lucia.’ (See article opposite)
Meanwhile, as we hem and haw, wonder and ponder: The USA and Canada are quickly approaching total decriminalization while also developing lucrative medical and commercial operations and multinational industrial hemp markets from cannabis. Ditto Europe.
While we continue to discuss religious and health considerations across CARICOM, major US corporations are investing mega-millions into development of new strains and brands of marijuana in preparation for tomorrow’s global market for goods and medicines produced from cannabis and marijuana.
Everything in North America points to lifting of marijuana prohibition like was done with alcohol almost a century ago. Use and possession of marijuana for non-commercial purposes attracts less legal punishment everywhere today than yesteryear, but Caribbean jails continue to be overcrowded with persons sentenced for marijuana offenses. US States are lowering legal hurdles and barriers, while Caribbean governments continue to keep on the books outdated laws that still allow magistrates to sentence minors to incarceration for possession of ‘a joint’.
The discussion must continue here, even though with topical upgrades to suit the time and tasks, face the challenges and grasp the opportunities. And like has also been noted elsewhere, this discussion must involve more than just users and/or promoters of the still-illegal herb.
In that regard, Saint Lucia’s former Ambassador to the USA, the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS) Edsel Edmunds, himself a veteran scientist with a background in agricultural research, is acknowledged for his knowledge in the modern field of industrial uses of cannabis. Has anyone thought of inviting him to share that still rather largely unknown aspect of the cannabis and marijuana debate with fellow sons and daughters of the land that gave us birth?
It may be worth a try…