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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 3 MARCH 2019
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Its Carnival time inT&T once again.
2019. It is a great time
to be in this country; it is a great time to be Trinbagonian;
both for Carnival enthusiasts… and for proponents of the
recreational andmedicinal use of marijuana, as Government
pushes ahead in its effort to bring legislation to decriminalise
marijuana by July 2019.
A diverse group of individuals representing varying
interests– students, evangelical delegates, marijuana
activists, businessmen, academia and members of the
Rastafarian faith– sat in attendance at the 2nd Public
Consultation on the Decriminalisation of Marijuana held on
Wednesday 6 February at The UWI Teaching and Learning
Complex in St Augustine.
Some 135 countries (92 per cent of nations globally)
are involved in a form of cannabis cultivation. Between
183 Million and 238 Million persons worldwide have used
cannabis at least once in their lifetime. Most importantly,
the marijuana industry is valued at an astounding US$9.3
Billion (as of 2016).
A Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal
Affairs poll currently stands at 85 per cent out of 700,000
respondents in favour of legalising the drug.The figure of 85
per cent also represents the percentage of persons held on
remand for the possession of marijuana during the period
2007-2018 (68,730 persons out of 80,815).
Facilitating the session was Attorney General and
Minister of Legal Affairs Faris Al-Rawi, who shared that
the cost of incarceration on remand of one inmate for one
month is approximately $25,000. For an eleven-year period
that same inmate costs the state $2.54 million.
There are currently 1,565 inmates that have been at
remand yard awaiting trial for under five years and 246 over
11 years. They represent a malfunctioning justice system at
best, a possible human rights violation at worst, and a cost
of $9 billion and $.5+ billion respectively to taxpayers over
the span of their incarceration.
“Our society clearly has an affinity for drugs, because
we recognise that we are a transshipment point and there’s
an industry in narcotics. The question is, where do we want
to place resources as a nation in managing these statistics,”
stated Al-Rawi.
Maximum security prison statistics for marijuana-
related offences for the 2014-2019 period also revealed
that T&T’s war on pot seems to target mainly young
(male) persons of African descent. Approximately half
of those in remand and of those convicted are of African
origin. Persons of East Indian and of mixed heritage come
in at around a quarter in both instances. The Asian and
Hispanic population barely appear in the data, under 0.02%
collectively. The Caucasian community does not feature in
the statistics.
Stating that it was his duty as T&T’s leader to “have this
matter properly examined”, PrimeMinister the Honourable
Dr Keith Rowley said at a recent political meeting in Diego
Martin, “Our jails are full of young people, largely young
men, because they smoked a marijuana joint and the law
in this county makes the smoking of a marijuana cigarette
a criminal offence. Many of them can’t raise bail so they rot
inside the jail. That is a matter of social justice that needs
to be addressed.
“(But) the marijuana smoking in the upper echelons
of society where a serious number of acres of marijuana
is burnt, very few of them end up in jail. If they even get
charged it is very unlikely that they will end up in the jail.
But the ‘gift’ for those who are from Laventille, Enterprise
or Cunupia – if you get caught with marijuana you’re going
to jail.”
Several speakers from the audience vehemently
requested a moratorium on arrests for possession of small
amounts of “grass” until the decriminalisation takes effect.
But this suggestion was shot down by the AG who
explained, “Nobody in this country believes that if you do
the crime, you do the time. No Attorney General could
actually make the recommendation until the law is implied
and put into effect which is why we are here. So the bottom
line is we have to make the changes to the law. And the
reason is that we want to make sure the law is applied.”
Instead the country can expect the introduction of a
“drugaliser” in the not too distant future that will test for
the use of cocaine, morphine, prescribed medications and
cannabis among other drugs.
“Can we fix everything in one go? No. Our intention
is to start. Start and then work our way towards where we
want to go,” pronounced Al-Rawi.
Also participating on the decriminalisation panel were
Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal
Affairs the Honourable Fitzgerald Hinds; Jamaican-born
gynaecological oncologist andmedical marijuana researcher
Dr Anthony Pottinger; and research scientist and regional
policy adviser on cannabis Marcus Ramkissoon.
The 3rd Public Consultation on the Decriminalisation
of Marijuana took place on Wednesday 20 February in
Tobago.
The Cost of NOT
DECRIMINALISINGMARIJUANA
B Y L I S A L U A N A O W E N
PANEL ON POT: (From left) AG Faris Al-Rawi, Campus Principal Professor Brian Copeland, medical marijuana
researcher Dr Anthony Pottinger, Minister in the Ministry of the AG and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds, regional
cannabis policy advisor Marcus Ramkissoon, Campus Deputy Principal Professor Indar Ramnarine and Minister of
Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Senator Clarence Rambharat.
PHOTO: ATIBA CUDJOE
Lisa Luana Owen is a freelance writer, event coordinator, PR strategist and traditional and new media marketing consultant.
“Can we fix
everything in
one go? No. Our
intention is to
start. Start and
then work our
way towards
where we want
to go”
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
DECRIMINALISE IT: An attendee shares his opinions.
PHOTO: ATIBA CUDJOE
