Taking a second look at marijuana laws Dominica News Online - Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 at 2:44 PM Dominica’s marijuana laws may soon be given a second look with view of lifting some restrictions, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. Speaking at a press conference on Monday morning, the prime minster said that the time has come for a review and perhaps to alter the laws governing the use of marijuana. However, he warned the government is not prepared to lift the ban on the use of the herb completely. “I do not agree that we should remove our legal restrictions on this completely,” he noted. “I do not think that I would like to use that as an economic measure. Some people have spoken about how much money we can make from this, but we also have to measure the impact on the minds and the body of our people.” It appears the government is prepared to allow the use of small quantities of marijuana with no legal implications. “For example, somebody with a very small quantity of marijuana, we will charge these people and they are sometimes sent to the prisons,” he explained. “If a man has a little, 5 or 6 grams of marijuana, should that person be sent to prison for this small amount? The police may find somebody with two seeds in his pocket and that person will be arrested and get a criminal record for the rest of his life.” The prime minister noted that if small quantities of marijuana are allowed, certain conditions must be applied. “We need to determine whether or not we want to allow people to use a very small quantity for religious and other purposes,” he stated. “Obviously one would have to place certain conditions on that, meaning you cannot smoke it in public, you cannot be on a bus and pull it out, you cannot be on the block and smoking it … it has to be in the privacy of your home and your property.” He noted further that although conditions will be placed in the laws, the challenge of who will be permitted to grow the herb will still arise. “There are other issues with that,” Skerrit said. “There is the issue of who is to cultivate it so you could buy it from them. So it is not a simple decision that one has to take.” Since a number of issues will surface in the matter, the prime minister said the government is willing to set up a commission, “to look at this matter and to consult the various stakeholders in the region and to come back to us with recommendations as to how we go about addressing this issue.” dominicanewsonline/news/homepage/news/general/taking-second-look-marijuana-laws/
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 07:13:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015