[www.inewsguyana.com] – President Donald Ramotar says that much more information is needed before a firm decision is made as to whether Guyana will legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The substance is increasingly being accepted by several countries internationally and Caricom examined this issue during its recently concluded 35th Heads of Governments meeting, in Antigua and Barbuda.
The issue is one that will be examined by government, according to President Ramotar but much more information is needed before a firm decision is made.
“The emphasis seems to be on positive nature of medical marijuana but there also needs to be more information on the negatives too, and then how do we control it, and we have to look at the general health of the population”.
The move by the regional group to examine its usage, was however, welcomed by President Ramotar, who said it will help the decision makers to take positions on the issue
Caricom has created a commission to study whether the region’s roughly 15 million people should be allowed to use medical marijuana and how courts should handle possession of small amounts of the drug. This special commission is expected to submit its reports at the next Heads of Government summit, scheduled for February 2016.
A recent preliminary report from Caricom found that decriminalising medical marijuana could help boost the region’s economy.
Activists in Jamaica, St. Lucia and other Caribbean territories have been pushing to legalise marijuana use and Jamaica’s government recently announced its plans to partially decriminalise small amounts of cannabis sativa, and to allow possession for religious, scientific and medical purposes. Uruguay recently became the first country to approve nationwide pot legalisation, whilst in the United States several states have followed suit.
[Extracted and modified from GINA]
what more do u need to learn? legalize the thing n done with it. when they do wrong if they are high on it then double and triple the penalty. like if caught driving high on the stuff the minimum penalty must be 30 years in jail. u high and drive n kill u get life in jail
There are hundreds of millions of people in the USA. This means that there will be a lot of sick people.
Guyana have a small population and the life expectancy is way below that of the USA.
We do not want to open the flood gates to drugs.
If Medical Ganja is needed, with a permit and applicable taxes, let them buy it from Jamaica.