Marijuana use in Barbados will not be decriminalized without the appropriate research that weighs the pros and cons, says Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite.
He made it clear Barbados would not be jumping on any bandwagon with the United States, or Caribbean nations which have suggested they might take such action to decriminalize marijuana for personal use.
Brathwaite, who is also Minister of Home Affairs, was speaking from First Baptist Church, Constitution Road, The City where the National Council On Substance Abuse (NCSA) held a church service to commence activities for Drug Awareness Month under the United Nations theme: Make Health Your New High In Life, Not Drugs.
He said even though some may say alcohol use has similar negative effects and is legally available, he would like to see reduced consumption of alcohol and all substances both legal and illegal.
“We will not as a country move in the direction of decriminalizing marijuana until we have done all of the research and weighed all the pros and cons,” Brathwaite said.
“We will not [decriminalize] because it is fashionable or because our neighbours next door in many ways have lost the fight and have decided that this is the best solution. We have not lost the fight.”
He also addressed the issue of a drug treatment court.
Brathwaite said over the last year his office had put the framework in place for the court and it should be in place by February.
He said the court was designed for “non-violent offenders” who were believed to have been involved in crime because of substance abuse so there could be intervention.
“We want to intervene on the front end . . . . The numbers at the prison are so high, we are being overwhelmed, so we want to intervene upfront so we can assist persons before they get into prison.”
He also referenced last year’s Burglary Study conducted by The National Task Force on Crime Prevention, which showed that most of the offenders said they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol or a combination at the time they committed these offences.
At the church service attended by staff of the NCSA and representatives of the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Commission on Drug Abuse, Brathwaite expressed concern about the emerging trend of younger people using legal drugs and concocting homemade drugs to experience a high. (LK)
