MPs Approve Cannabis Decriminalisation Bill
Last night MPs in the House of Assembly passed the Misuse of Drugs [Decriminalisation of Cannabis] Amendment Act 2017, which seeks to remove criminal sanctions for possessing under 7 grams of cannabis.
The Bill’s Explanatory Memorandum said, ”This Bill amends the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 to remove criminal sanctions for the possession by any person of cannabis that does not exceed the specified statutory amount.
“Clause 2 amends section 6 of the principal Act to decriminalise the possession of cannabis lower than the statutory amount where criminal sanctions will not apply, and makes savings provision for prosecution for intent to supply.
“Clause 3 inserts a new section 25A empowering the police to seize cannabis in the possession of any person and also provides for drug education or drug treatment.
“Clause 4 inserts a new Schedule 8 that specifies the amount of cannabis below which criminal sanctions will not apply.”
The Bill – which which now head to the Senate — was passed with support from both sides of the House, and during the debate most MPs said they support it and expressed concern about the impact of being ‘stoplisted’ on young people.
The Misuse of Drugs [Decriminalisation of Cannabis] Amendment Act 2017 follows below [PDF here]
Does this effect Bermudians free travel to the USA in any way?
Why would it?
almost there. Collie Buddz start working on the tune bruh legal come around . in a few years or so we should be fully legal and have a blooming tourism product. my the new tune resonate to the world with music vid and all the trimming
In my country we have hashish!
Thank you for sharing. Are you related to Harvey Weinstien?
Love the pen name the best thing I have read coming after all the feces that has poured out of the house over the last 24 hours.
Well go back there then
Excuse me while I light my spliff,
good God I’ve got to take a lift,
from reality I just can’t drift,
that’s why I’m staying with this riff.
Just legalise it. All this will do is make the market bigger for the drug dealers.
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If it is totally legalized then it will be taxed. Regulated and controlled. The price will increase markedly and dealers would continue their illegal trade of it at a cheaper price than the market allows.
Not if we don’t make the mistakes of others, and become trendsetters rather than sheep, and just say no to taxes, limits and regulations (other than age for recreational use). Legalize doesn’t have to mean over-reaching government interference and corporate takeovers, that is institutional racism. Full pardons, renumeration and first dibs for the victims of the unjust, failed, trampling of peoples’ equal rights committed by the ‘authorities’ racially biased “war on some drugs and some of the people who use them”.
So you continually demonize alcohol and cigs , which the public are taxed through the wazoo on , but you want to make herb (used for recreational purposes) tax free ?
And you probably believe it will be another economic pillar ? How then ?
If it’s going to be completely legalized for ‘recreational purposes’ then sting the users just like booze and cigs are .
I always told you that this process wasn’t going to be straightforward but in time you may eventually get something resembling what you want .
No one needs to demonize your drugs of choice, they do a good enough job of that themselves, killing millions of humans every year. What gives the government the right to tax people for something they continue to imprison people for unjustly, knowing full well they are wrong? How can an entity expect to be in charge of something they effed up so badly on? First, the huge savings they will accumulate when they stop flushing millions upon millions of dollars down the drain to do the impossible, will prevent them from borrowing to pay restitution to victims, second the lower health costs when people cut out your favorites for a far healthier and safer alternative is more than enough.
It’s a lifestyle choice you make.
So let me get this straight:
I CAN have weed in my pocket, car, bike, house
But I CAN’T grow it,
I CAN’T buy it,
I CAN’T sell it,
I CAN’T import it?
……the weed fairy will simply leave you a 7 gram poke under your pillow once a week
sign me up.
That is why decriminalization is a farce, a stalling tactic fueled by ignorance, bias and fear. Ganja is safer than all legal drugs and all C.R.A.P. food (commercially refined and processed).
Not hiring any weed smokers, guess Government and Zane will have too.
But drunks you have no problem with?
Of course not… Now u can hire ur cokehead friends lmawo
Are prior convictions of people who were convicted of small amounts of cannabis going to be overturned and current prisoners charged with possession released??? All this is good and all, but changing this law now only acknowledges that the government was wrong in convicting people in the past. Which people were telling them about cannabis for decades.
Decriminalization is a step, but at some point Bermuda needs to be bold and make intelligent decisions that positively affect it’s citizens, instead of worrying about the input of our colonial overseers. Far too many Bermudians, young black Bermudians in particular, have had their lives destroyed by possession of a plant. But let’s all go buy some cigarettes and alcohol though, and get wasted! But then again, what people own both of those products…#followthemoney
This is why these clowns are taking ‘baby steps’ delaying the inevitable. Doubt you will get any other replies to this serious question.
*now only acknowledges that the government was wrong in convicting people in the past *
Far from it . No-one was ‘wrong’ . We were simply operating within the parameters of the then existing laws.
When the penalty for murder was changed from ‘real life’ to 25 years , which is in fact now about 10 years , did the families of those incarcerated for life ask for a refund or say that the old law was wrong ?
Exactly what some said about slavery.
Not exactly the same thing is it.
Trying to equate everything to slavery makes you look pathetic. Come up with something less moronic.
What rock did you crawl out from under? Let me try to enlighten you, when the moron I replied to above said that no one was wrong in the drug wars they were operating within the parameters of the law, that is exactly what the Queens reply was to the slaves descendants when they sought reparations from Britain, got it dingbat?
You know , people might take you just a little bit seriously if you toned down your shrill attacks and total BS claims you continuously come out with to try and justify your desire for full legalization .
I’m quite sure that if we had a moron poll done here it wouldn’t be me that topped the list .
There you go again. Equating your petty lifestyle choice with slavery. Pathetic.
You are beyond help, my ‘lifestyle’ is petty yet you want people to defend your pathetic cause?
There is a mechanism in place that could easily be amended. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act states in part after 7 years you do not have to declare a conviction. That does not though wipe the slate clean. A small amendement could wipe the slate clean, and it should.
Laws are not some ordained codes implemented by God, they are rules implemented by those with power. So simply saying they (The Government) were following the law in locking up people with possession of cannabis is BS. They were wrong! Slavery, Apartheid, Jim Crow etc. were all LEGAL, yet we now acknowledge they were wrong LAWS. People’s records who were previously convicted of cannabis possession should be cleared and people currently serving sentences for possession should be immediately released!
You can attempt to debate whether 7 grams being legal is alright but 8 grams is too much and is an illegal act that requires punishment all you want. But the most reasonable of people have to admit that that concept is idiotic when you really think about it. A person’s life shouldn’t be destroyed because of 1 gram of a plant. They need to decriminalize it all together. Our country is screaming for revenue streams, tax it and make money like our intelligent countries. Aren’t we tired of playing catch up with other countries?
Overturned. I doubt it. Damage done… I have a male relative who was a thriving (A) student overseas in the United States. Got caught with one small joint whilst home on school break and denied access to travel to US. Hopes and dreams shattered over one joint. Regrettably over the years, he then got caught up in gang activity and now serving big time for actions associated with this! I have always associated his demise with that one joint. Sad…very sad indeed!
Yes,I can finally get that medical card to help me with my seizures,I hope? Now ban alcohol?..? No way init it’s far to much to be made from them sales. It has been Long over due for the tree
This was done so all the PLP weed smokers can indulge in a little and not be arrested , you need something to numb the pain
What’s the fuss…get a job,then why get one, pay my rent, groceries and cellphone allowance, no regiment etc. I have got it good don’t c a problem. And now “excuse me while I light my spl…”life is good.
I hope that the government will explain the law in layman’s terms. It is my understanding that it is still illegal just not a criminal offense more like a speeding ticket. That the person can have it confiscated and or can be required to attend drug rehabilitation. Is there a drug court? Can a person sit in the stands at say cupmatch or a concert next to say a 5 year old and smoke weed without consequence? My issue is how does one protect the children from getting high when they are innocently sitting next to an adult smoking weed.
Second hand cigarette smoke kills thousands and sickens many more, doesn’t the youths wellbeing concern you enough to campaign against that? Children start drinking at like 8 yrs old according to DNDC studies, shouldn’t you be more concerned about youngsters access to liquor seeing as it, like tobacco, is actually poisonous.
You are correct in highlighting that cigs and alcohol are widely used at adolescent ages and widely destructive. They are also both legalised drugs. So that helps explain the “popularity” or easy access with younger users. Why expect any different result with cannabis?
Cannabis doesn’t kill people.
Nope , never hurt or killed anyone , anywhere under any circumstances despite evidence proving otherwise no mater what you claim .
I’ll be seeing my GP soon and I’ll beg him to let me start smoking it coz you say it’s safer than air . lol
Quo Fata Titanic
Yes, I have grave concerns about the excessive use of alcohol in our community and the ease of access for minors, half of the time it comes from parents. My profession sees the sad results and yes I’m afraid that the level of alcoholism is going to be off the chart in the years to come based on the current excessive use. Tobacco is a killer, you are right and I preach that all the time to the kids. I am actually pleased that cannabis has been decriminalized because I hate that a young male ends up on a stop list for limited use. I also hate to see a young person speed off and take the police on a chase or even worse be seriously injured or encounter death in their attempt to flee because the consequence of stopping meant jail for a small amount. But I still think that we have to figure out a few things. Do you go to football games? Well tomorrow I’ll be interested to see if the weed smokers have move from the weed smoking side to the bleachers. I hope not because at least up till now I know where to sit! I don’t want second hand smoke, tobacco or weed.
Carbon monoxide is the most common cause of poisoning in industry and the home, and is also a major pollutant, do you drive or go to games at BAA or Dandytown in the shadow of Belco smokestacks? Herb smoke is far less harmful than tobacco, look up Donald Tashkin M.D. of David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, a federal researcher who has studied cannabis for 30+ years, his findings show that contrary to common belief and propaganda from big tobacco, alcohol and pharma, long term heavy use of cannabis does not cause lung cancer, but actually has a protective effect. Just saying.
*long term heavy use of cannabis does not cause lung cancer, but actually has a protective effect. Just saying.*
I can’t wait for my GP to tell me to start smoking herb .
I can’t wait either, I hope it opens your mind.
Trust me , my mind is way more open than yours but for some strange reason you can’t see it .
Who cares? Legalize it. Big deal.
Pass the corn curls.
This is essentially the same as receiving stolen goods….goods that are valued under $50 so it’s ok. Lol Don’t matter how you got the stolen goods but because it’s a small amount we won’t arrest you.
Can they just add a provision to grow 1 or 2 plants at home on your property under 3ft tall? How hard is that? Then there would be no need to sell..people would be practically giving it away.
There should be retroactive clause that deals with anyone who have been convicted of less than 7 grams to have the record expunged.
Is there any current process in place to get off the stop list? Although, I am not in favir of decriminalization, I do have sympathy for those who find themselves there for extremely minor offences. In fact, I’m curious to know what is the stipulated amount and surrounding circumstances that land one on the stop list?? Does this minimum stipulation of 7 grams correlate to some overarching limit? I only ask because whenever this topic comes up you inevitably have comments suggesting if you get caught with any amount your travel privileges get taken away indefinitely…
Well, it is any amount, no matter how minute since we prosecute people for possession of a plant, it is viewed as a conviction involving ‘moral turpitude’ and you are ineligible for entry to the US for 99 years. Waivers are an option, but not a given, for a fee. Strangely enough being convicted for drunk driving is not considered to be as serious ( turpitude=wickedness) as merely possessing an herb and luckily for the few people here they actually catch, it won’t land you on the “stop list”. This 7 gram decrim amendment will only prevent those not charged from getting on the list, the only sensible solution is to stop arresting people for cannabis, period. Problem solved. If cancer sticks are the only acceptable smoking material allowed despite killing around 5 million people annually, what justification could there possibly be for arresting and ruining the lives of people who smoke, eat or drink cannabis?
This is a small step toward sanity. But it doesn’t address all the criminals getting rich and killing each other over the drugs being illegal to sell. An easy fix to this would be to allow people to grow a small amount of their own and that would certainly put a dent in the gang/murder problem. The marijuana train has left the station, it’s only a matter of time before full legalization. Of course Bermuda will have to wait for US federal government to do this first. But it will happen and their is absolutely nothing anyone that has a problem with it will be able to do about it. Canada is next and about to make billions on their new industry.