Column: Bascome-Emery On Cannabis Laws
[Opinion column written by Rayki Bascome-Emery]
Uplift was a lifeline—hiring Bermudians, paying taxes, pulling in cash for our island and providing medicinal and recreational products to Bermudians. Today? Doors locked, lights off. Not because they broke the law, but because Bermuda’s bureaucrats can’t figure out the Misuse of Drugs [Hemp] Amendment Act 2019.
While legit businesses like Uplift get crushed, the black market is popping champagne.
Welcome to Bermuda’s cannabis chaos. Bermuda’s cannabis laws are a trainwreck. The hemp rules are a riddle, Customs is lost, and honest businesses are bleeding out. Uplift played it straight, but when the goalposts keep shifting, only the black market scores. Canada is cashing in billions from legal weed; the U.S. is building empires. Us? We’re torching jobs and innovation like it’s 1950. Call it what it is: economic sabotage. For a government who bragged incessantly about its inclusivity, how can you justify shutting these Black women down?
Face it: the underworld is not going anywhere. It’s been here since the existence of trade and commerce. A real national security team would choke their cash flow, not serve it up on a platter. Shutting down Uplift doesn’t kill cannabis demand—it just pumps it straight to the streets. Weeks’ crew should be strangling the black market, not tossing it a lifeline. Right now? They’re rolling out the red carpet. Michael Weeks, as Minister of National Security, is supposed to shield Bermuda’s economy and its people. Instead, his Ministry’s choking out entrepreneurs.
Minister, if national security’s your job, prove it—fix this mess. Bermuda’s had enough. We need laws that make sense, enforcement that works, and a lifeline for our entrepreneurs. This isn’t just about weed—it’s about whether we let suits in offices bury our future or fight for one where Bermudians win. Right now, the streets are eating our lunch and your man Jason said, “you never let anyone take your lunch money”. Fix this, or the black market’s next big party is on us.
- Rayki Bascome-Emery
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Well said.