The Tribune

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THIS week’s column could take a look at no end of subjects – it has been quite a week, but it is the issue of marijuana legislation that we shall focus on. That said, let us visit some of those other issues first.

There has been the spate of murders that, at the time of writing has reached 70 for the year – and it is terrible to have to write that while feeling the number could rise again by the time you are reading this.

In the House of Assembly, there has been the absolutely unforgiveable sight of a state minister refusing to tell people who the developer is behind a project over on Athol Island. There are strong whispers that there is a high level political connection. When that is revealed – as it surely will be – Leon Lundy’s reticence will look even worse than it does now, I am sure.

As Parliament takes its recess, there was a batch of bills related to intellectual property protection – which hopefully will be a good thing as long as it is enforced properly, giving Bahamians the chance to properly make the most of their creative endeavours. This legislation looks like a positive – so praise where it is deserved. I do hope the value being placed on Bahamians’ work spreads to the organisers of the national song contest that happens for Independence, and that performers are appropriately rewarded in such events.

And then there is the Prime Minister. Philip Davis has been suffering from sciatica, it seems, and has flown to the US for treatment. Obviously, I wish him well. I did note a number of people wondering why he did not get treatment here, and recalling his trip to the US for COVID treatment as well. I’ll confess, I do not put much truck in that. A person can choose the treatment they need, and I wish him a safe recovery.

A word of praise too for Glenys Hanna-Martin, for standing up in Parliament and calling out the plans by the cruise port for a water park. She deserves kudos for trying to ensure that the port does not carve out too big a piece of the pie for itself, giving visitors no reason to step beyond the fence to see – and spend in – Downtown and beyond.

And so I come to the marijuana legislation – which apart from a late salvo from the Christian Council seems to have overcome the majority of objections in its passage. Chemists have said they are hopeful remaining details can be worked out, while the Rastafarian community is mostly content with the laws, though feel their members should not have to pay for licences.

I will confess, I have mixed feelings – not so much about the legislation but about what I hope does not happen next.

Let me go back to the webshop legislation. It always sat uncomfortably with me that the entities that run the webshops today are, by and large, the same ones as ran the operations before the legislation – or becoming regularised, as the phrase was at the time.

It felt to me like a reward for being unregulated for so long – and I could not help but wonder if you or I or most others were in such a position, would we be accorded the same privilege? Take a look at the recent heavy-handed tactics with armed officers accompanying tax teams to get your answer.

So who will be the ones to run marijuana operations in the wake of this legislation?

I don’t want those who have been in open defiance of the law now to be rewarded. Serious drug dealers should not suddenly be able to put on a veneer of respectability when they have been happy to break the law for so long.

That said, perhaps there is room for those with minor charges to have those expunged, leaving them with the ability to enter the newly legal industry.

Recreational use will still be illegal – and I hope that is made very clear, and those who offend in knowingly supplying for such purposes are dealt with as they are now.

But here’s the thing. A lot of small-time offenders have been getting into that business to make a bit of money to survive. They will still need to earn money – is this their opportunity to do so legally?

Or will some big-time players in our society – those already established in a number of other industries – swoop in and corner this market too? Where will those small players go to make money, what will they do, if this avenue is not an option either?

This is my predicament – I am well aware of that. I do not want criminals rewarded, nor do I want the market cornered by those who frankly do not need even more money. I would love to see this as a pathway for people to find their way out of poverty, to offer a new path for entrepreneurs. This could create a whole new sector that could enable Bahamians to lift themselves up – but I am doubtful that will be the case.

In truth, I would honestly legalise recreational use too. This halfway house does not quite get us to where we should go, I think. I know some readers will say I am only saying this because I want to partake – but I’ll stick with my rum, thank you. It’s not for me.

Given the late intervention by the Christian Council, I can see that the government has done what it feels it can do for now. The council was quick to seize on former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ suggestion of legalising recreational use as a sign that this was the secret agenda all along, so I can only imagine how some of the consultation went.

This legislation is a significant change in our society – and I do hope that it can be used as an opportunity for significant change for some of the members of our society.

I would love to see more avenues opened up that would keep our young people out of jail. Out of crime. Out of a pathway to far worse, including those murders that continue to soar in numbers.

But I am uncomfortable about how this will work, and who will be the ones to benefit. It’s a fine line – and what comes next will bear watching closely.