Nelson Bascome yesterday backed an MP's call for a debate on marijuana. Health Minister Bascome, speaking as a drugs counsellor, said: "In other jurisdictions, especially in the western U.S. and Canada, debates have been able to formalize policy and with that being said, we would expect a debate in Bermuda to formalize [our position] and not continue to frustrate those advocates for or against." Earlier this week Dale Butler, who as Minister of Rehabilitation, would be expected to spearhead any debate, said he supports the idea, too, but that personally he is dead against decriminalization. [continues 361 words]
A woman who suffers from the central nervous system disease Multiple Sclerosis is begging the Government to legalize `medical marijuana.' The woman, a Bermudian working in the health profession, has been battling MS for years. She's tried a variety of painkillers but nothing has been as effective or agreeable as marijuana, which she ate, straight out of the freezer for almost a year until her supply ran out. Her plea, however, is unlikely to provoke any momentum. The Government says it's got no plans to conduct a review and the MS Society of Bermuda says its members are content with using legal drugs. It means she's left with two choices -- either she gets `lucky' and somebody provides her with the drug free of charge or she uses prescription drugs, which, like marijuana, carry potential side-effects. [continues 1099 words]
Decriminalizing marijuana in Bermuda has already happened "to a degree", according to Health and Social Services Minister Nelson Bascome. Under the Criminal Code Amendment Act, instead of being dealt with as a criminal, offenders who meet certain criteria will be channelled through the drug treatment court, which is being set up to ease the pressure on the island's overcrowded jails - in effect, that, and a new section on conditional and absolute discharge, is most likely to result in the decriminalization of first time offenders caught with small amounts of marijuana. [continues 746 words]
