Special Envoy for Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement, Trevor Prescod.
Government’s move to amend legislation to provide for the payment of a fixed penalty for persons found in possession of small quantities of cannabis, has been described by a former Cabinet member as simply a revenue generating exercise.
Special Envoy for Reparations and Economic Enfranchisement, Trevor Prescod, who previously served as Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, hinted to the fact that whilst government seems to be taking small steps in going forward with regards to the matter of marijuana use, more could have been done to ensure that persons who use small quantities do not have to face a penalty or pay a fine.
“I strongly believe that nobody should be in possession of 14 grams and have to pay a fine. Two hundred dollars?” he remarked during recent debate of the Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Bill 2020.
“At the end of the day, you are going to see the same amount of cases going before the court. The only difference is going to be that the government is going to receive $200 dollars from each man as a result of being in possession of two grams, one, 12 or 11. It is a revenue earning exercise,” he maintained.
Prescod added, “All I am saying is what other people have been calling me with within the last two to three hours. The newspaper is already all throughout Barbados, running through the whole country asking the Rastafarian community for their opinion, asking youth in Barbados do you consider this to be progressive legislation? We are inching along and although you might say it is an inch, it is not good enough.
“I cannot see this as a major step and fundamental change. The thing about it is, at the end of the day, somebody has to now supply the marijuana too, so you have got to be accepting it because the man that has got the five bag got to get it from somebody. So this is not a holistic view of the realities that we are experiencing. There [are] men planting it out there and if men now feel that they can pay a little fine and get away, they are going to look for a supplier. Are you then cultivating an environment that allows for people to plant and grow?” he continued.
“If it is yes, because you are going to do it shortly, especially if the state is looking for revenue, foreign reserves and everything, you are going to do it and then you are going to have another issue on your hands because we are not addressing the fundamentals,” Prescod opined.