The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, whose administration did not bring cannabis legislation to the House of Assembly, said the substance should be legalised for recreational use in The Bahamas.

Becoming one of the few elected officials to endorse recreational use of marijuana fully, he said the same rules for alcohol use can be applied for people to use marijuana responsibly. 

He said the compendium of bills the Davis administration will pass does not go far enough. Those bills legalise cannabis for medical and religious purposes.

Dr Minnis said many countries legalised cannabis for medical purposes decades ago, adding that the country is behind in acknowledging the benefits of marijuana. 

“Uruguay, Canada, and Thailand have fully legalised cannabis,” he said. “Several other countries have legal regimes with full implementation pending in various ways. Uruguay, in South America, was the first country to fully legalise cannabis in 2013.”

“We allow adults to use alcohol with rules. There is a minimum age to buy alcohol. There are regulated vendors for the sale of alcohol. There are hours when it can be sold. You are not allowed to drive while intoxicated with alcohol. Similar rules should be put in place for the recreational use of cannabis.” 

“It is time that we legalise it and allow people to make their own decisions on its use. I believe in personal responsibility when it comes to adults and issues such as cannabis.”

Dr Minnis said some people drink or smoke, but they have jobs and families and are responsible citizens.  

The current bills decriminalise possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. People without a cannabis licence found with up to 30 grams of marijuana can get a fixed penalty fine of $250.

Dr Minnis said the $250 is too high –– a week’s wage for some people. He recommended amending this to $50.

“If the point of this bill is to decriminalise small possession, the ticket price should not be as high as proposed,” he said.

The Minnis administration never moved to change the status quo on cannabis in the country despite appointing a commission that recommended legalising the substance for medical use and decriminalising small amounts of the substance.

In May, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said his administration decided now is not the appropriate time to facilitate some recreational use of cannabis.

“The jury is still out on the impact of recreational use,” Dr Davis said.

“There have been some studies that demonstrate that irresponsible use of marijuana could lead to harm to the individual and to their mental state. We want to have a clear understanding of what recreational use will be, hence all we’re doing at the moment is dealing with the issue of relief for medicinal purposes and because of our constitutional constraints about freedom of religion, to allow use in the religions where the conscience permits the use of marijuana.”