Pubdate: Fri, 12 Apr 2013
Source: Royal Gazette, The (Bermuda)
Copyright: 2013 The Royal Gazette Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.theroyalgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2103
Author: John Barritt

MARIJUANA DEBATE SHOULD BE COMMUNITY-WIDE

The young are the restless. It is a line for which I cannot take 
credit. It was a headline that appeared recently in The New York 
Times. It caught my eye as did the subject matter: how views are 
changing on the decriminalisation and use of marijuana. A writer by 
the name of Charles M Blow (yes, real name) was commenting on an 
April 2013 poll that for the first time showed that more Americans 
support legalising marijuana than oppose it.

This was and is no April fool's joke.

Similar, strong opinion on the issue is surfacing in Canada. 
Reputable pollsters up North are reporting that 66 percent of 
Canadians polled last year supported decriminalisation while 57 
percent polled supported full legalisation. As in the United States, 
these are significant and striking changes in attitude from years 
past. Past polls showed that a majority of people were dead set 
against any relaxation of the law.

The acceptance of change, if not the push, is apparently coming from 
those who comprise the generation known as millenials: those born in 
1981 or later. They starting to form a strong majority with those who 
have always held more liberal views on drugs from among the baby 
boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) and Generation Xers (those 
born between 1965 and 1980).

Like you, Mr Acting Editor, I wonder: does the same hold true for Bermuda?

Certainly the issue is back in the news here. The top legal officer 
in the land, the Attorney General, albeit a political appointment, 
has declared that the issue ought to be debated in the Legislature - 
and presumably he intends to make good on his promise. Meanwhile, a 
former Commissioner of Police has also since been drawn on the debate 
and has said that he favours decriminalisation.

I put aside for now the question of whether or not this is good 
politics. You might wonder about the wisdom of any such move in light 
of what the new Government is facing in terms of the state of our 
economy and Government finances, ie that massive, almost crippling 
public debt. I admit to my first reaction: a modern Marie Antoinette 
version of 'let them smoke dope' is but a poor substitute for what's 
really required to help turn this Island around.

On the other hand, we cannot ignore the widespread use of marijuana 
in Bermuda and the effect that it has on all of our lives - in homes, 
in the workplace, in schools, on the roads and on law and order, ie 
crime. It has also been suggested the drug trade itself is currently 
a critical and important cash pillar of the local economy. I don't doubt it.

But ducking the difficult is something we do well. We already do it 
with alcohol. If you don't believe me, just listen more closely to 
what Dr Joseph Froncioni has been saying, repeatedly, about the 
carnage it causes on our roads.

The last time this issue of decriminalisation came up on the Hill was 
in presentations before the joint committee on crime and gang 
violence set up some three years ago. I was a member. There were 
representations, but we declined to deal with them. I was one of 
those who urged us to take the position that drug use, how it should 
be viewed and how the issue should or should not be addressed, was 
not part of our remit. The Committee lacked the necessary expertise.

I have not changed my mind on that, but I have made up my mind on the 
need to more carefully examine the pros and cons of the issue. 
Attitudes are changing - and we need to prepare now for what our 
approach will be to the use of marijuana, and all addictive drugs 
frankly, as an issue of public health rather than one that is simply criminal.

Re-assessment has already begun elsewhere and not just within the 
United States and Canada.

I am not so sure debate in the House of Assembly will provide us what 
we need; rather what we do need is a credible, visible vehicle for 
public consultation and representation so that everyone in our 
community can see, hear and participate, including, and most 
particularly, those who have experience and are expert in the field.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom