By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced on Friday that government is currently completing legislation to legalise medicinal marijuana, bringing the country another step closer to marijuana reform.
“The government is in the process of now completing legislation to bring to Parliament to legalise medicinal marijuana so that medical marijuana could be grown by Bahamians here –- utilised and exported – medicinal marijuana,” Dr Minnis said at an event at Abaco on Friday.
This comes after Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana Co- Chair Quinn McCartney told The Tribune last week that the body hoped to submit its final report surrounding the use of marijuana to the government in the first quarter of this year.
In 2018, the commission was mandated by Cabinet to comprehensively examine issues surrounding the use of marijuana to chart the way forward on the substance.
After several extensions, the commission presented its preliminary marijuana report to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis early last year, making recommendations for the legalisation of medicinal marijuana and the decriminalisation for possession of up to one ounce of the drug among other things.
However, Dr Minnis has previously said he supports decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana and making the substance legal for medicinal and/or scientific purposes, becoming the first sitting prime minister to publicly support some form of marijuana decriminalisation.
The Prime minister also said he wanted to inform young Bahamians that the government was working “ aggressively” to have their records expunged for those found with small amounts of marijuana.
Those convicted of the offense can apply to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee, headed by former Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson.
“I also want, especially the young people, to hear that we are aggressively moving towards expunging the records of young people and many have been done already because too many of our young people have been arrested for minor offenses, including minimal use of marijuana, and their life can be totally destroyed in that they cannot obtain proper jobs and visit the United States and their future is destroyed.”
“I invite all who would’ve been charged with such minor offenses to apply, apply so that your records can be expunged, and your life can continue. The government will continue to expunge to protect our young people and protect our future.”
National Security Minister Marvin Dames told reporters in December that the body continues to see increased requests for record expungement, but noted that officials want more ex-convict to apply because “everyone deserves a second chance.”
Comments
hrysippus 3 years, 10 months ago
It isreported that in the US 40,000 have died since January 2020 from opiate overdoses. During this same time frame the number of people who died in the US from mariuana overdose has been exactly none. Consider that for a moment. Let it sink in and then wonder why this whole discussion has even been necessary.
KapunkleUp 3 years, 10 months ago
Because in our country there has never been a clear separation between the church and the state.
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
Simply not true. You are ignoring the many lives typically lost or ruined in any given year as a result of serious accidents caused by heavy marijuana users (potheads) driving and/or operating dangerous equipment while stoned out of their minds.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 10 months ago
Marijuana does not cause inebriation. Never has and never will. Alcohol does. Marijuana does not. Bet you've never smoked it....
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
Try again..... being abusively stoned on marijuana or abusively drunk on alcohol while operating motor vehicles or heavy equipment creates a dangerous impairment situation for both the impaired individual and others. And I bet you've smoked plenty marijuana and are most productive at your workplace. lol
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 10 months ago
I have smoke a lot of herb in my life and have had a successful career. I don't drink very often because I do not like being out of control and hangovers. Obviously I speak from experience. You do not.
Thanks for your input though...
milesair 3 years, 10 months ago
tribanon AKA muddatakesic iives in the stone age. The fried egg BS, Red China, you know the yellow peril comes from the cold war era. Living in the past is a convenient cop out for him. He is NOT a modern man, but he has a high sperm count!!
TalRussell 3 years, 10 months ago
Marijuana will not kill you but may mess with the way your brain processes things like whilst watching TV - make you think launch campaign to get the Looney Tunes character, Road Runner to be looked at as worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for his humane treatment Wile E. Coyote. Shakehead a quick once for Upyeahvote, Twice for not.
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
There is an economic toll associated with habitual pot smokers. They are well known to be much less productive compared to their peers in the workplace. Let's not be too quick to forget that BPL's pothead workers out at Clifton Pier did not exactly do the greatest job at keeping our lights on at night for many years.
I'm okay with physician prescribed medical use in properly regulated and controlled situations. But like many others, I'm dead set against legalizing the general use of even small amounts of marijuana because this would be quickly abused and simply add to the many problems our small nation already has with the abuse of another substance, alcohol.
hrysippus 3 years, 10 months ago
Hi TribuneAnon; you are not OK with decriminalization of marijuana because of what you claim to be a list of unsubstantiated and nebulous negative side effects.. Why not mention the very obvious and deadly effects of obesity in our country? Diabetes and Hypertension anyone? Should we not immediately make sugar, meat, and junk food illegal? Let's start putting people in jail for being obese; after all obese people are well known to be less productive and take more days off sick than no-obese people?
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
You're completely missing the point. Yes, if you're a skinny frail soul and a morbidly obese Bahama Mama trips and falls on top of you, then you might well not survive the unfortunate incident. But how would you feel being a passenger on a commercial airliner with the cockpit crew comprised of stoned and seriously impaired potheads? Why do you think the active druh in marijuana (THC) is included in the required random drug testing done for so many of the more dangerous occupations where public safety is at risk? All of you marijuana lovers need to get real!
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
P.S. It's hard to prevent someone from harming themself, but government does have a role to play in preventing someone from harming others from a public safety standpoint.
hrysippus 3 years, 10 months ago
Tribun. Your point is totally irrelevant. I have not seen anyone anywhere advocating that commercial airline pilots should be allowed to smoke weed before they pilot an aircraft. unfortunately creating false narratives is very common with people who cannot put forward logical arguments. have you perhaps been consuming sugar today? Has it perhaps clouded your judgement? We need to ban all refined sugar products and make it illegal to eat dead animal parts; then the nation will start to get more healthy and people will be able to think more clearly.
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
You're of course 1000000% correct. There, does that make you feel any better? LOL
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 10 months ago
Marijuana has nothing to do with BEC's lack of maintenance. That's company policy....
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
You've clearly smoked too much of it for way too long. And sad to say there's no known treatment for reversing the harmful effects on the brain. Think of an egg frying in a frying pan!
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 10 months ago
Facts seem to throw you. BEC has ignored thier machinery and infrastructure for decades now. Obviously. Lol. Anyways I live on GB, foreign power company, lowest rates in the country and very rare for power to go out. But hey you keep thinking Nassau's intermittent power supply is because of marijuana... Lol...
John 3 years, 10 months ago
Plenty people gonna have glaucoma and arthritis now
JokeyJack 3 years, 10 months ago
This is just another red herring to take the attention of the people off of the fact that government is now planning to sink us MORE in debt by borrowing money to improve airports all around the Bahamas - as if people are not going hungry in this country every day. We don't have any money to spend on airports except for very very very urgently needed repairs. Making airport pretty or more functional should wait. There ain't no tourists anyway.
Yes, they may come in the future - but let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now small businesses need help (real help not more debt from banks) so the people can work and the economy can move up. It is so very much like government to continue their borrowing bonanza - making things look pretty for early election - while the people suffer.
This is disgusting.
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
Bingo!
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