The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER Dr Hubert Minnis endorsed legalising cannabis for recreational use, Bahamas Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander questioned if this was always the former prime minister’s “original intent”.

The government’s push to change the status quo on cannabis began under Dr Minnis with the establishment of a marijuana commission and the drafting of legislation that his administration did not bring to Parliament.

Before a compendium of cannabis bills was passed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Dr Minnis said the substance should be treated similarly to alcohol.

Bishop Fernander, meanwhile, had urged elected officials to suspend debate on the bill, saying the council only consented to legalising cannabis for medical use, not creating a cannabis industry or decriminalising possession of small amounts of the drug.

Bishop Fernander told reporters yesterday: “This started as medical marijuana under his administration, and to hear him now, it makes me wonder, was the original intent always to legalise marijuana? He gives a strong argument of why we speak up. This is why we speak up.”

“At some point, as Bahamians, we must see that this is not for the masses. This is for special interests, a few people will be enriched. The challenge is we can’t have people saying to us we’re going to do medical marijuana and then one term later say, oh, my whole intent was to legalise it.”

Countries that decriminalise possession of small amounts of marijuana usually liberalise their marijuana laws further as time passes.

Health Minister Dr Michael Darville responded to the Christian Council on Wednesday, emphasising that the bills’ primary objective is to help people suffering from various diseases.

He said the government is committed to ensuring that economic opportunities from the bills are fairly distributed and not concentrated in the hands of a few.

He also noted that many jurisdictions in the region and world have gone further than The Bahamas at decriminalising marijuana. Under the bills, people found with up to one ounce of marijuana will get a fixed penalty of $250.

Bishop Fernander said Dr Darville’s response did not address what the council said.