est. 2007

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The Jeff Cumberbatch Column – For Medical Use Only

“Subject to subsection (4), the Minister shall so exercise his power to make regulations under subsection (1) as to secure that it is not unlawful under section 5(l) for a practitioner, acting in his capacity as such, to prescribe, administer, manufacture, compound or supply a controlled drug, or for a pharmacist, acting in his capacity…

“Subject to subsection (4), the Minister shall so exercise his

power to make regulations under subsection (1) as to secure

  1. that it is not unlawful under section 5(l) for a practitioner, acting in his capacity as such, to prescribe, administer, manufacture, compound or supply a controlled drug, or for a pharmacist, acting in his capacity as such, to manufacture, compound or supply a controlled drug
  2. that it is not unlawful under section 6(l) for a practitioner or pharmacist to have a controlled drug in his possession for the purpose of acting in his capacity as such- section 12-Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) Act 1990-14

Almost predictably, Barbados last week announced an intention to approve the use of marijuana as a legitimate treatment for certain prescribed ailments, while reserving its position on the current criminalization of the recreational use of the controlled substance. Even so, the use of medical marijuana here will be rather tightly circumscribed, being susceptible for prescription as a last resort only and, according to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George, the smoking of the substance will form no part of the new therapy.

In the same week, the neighbouring jurisdiction of St. Vincent and the Grenadines announced the roll out of three kindred Bills to be sent to a select committee of that nation’s parliament; namely the Cannabis Cultivation (Amnesty) Bill; the Permitted Use of Cannabis for Religious Purposes Bill and the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Bill.

St Vincent & the Grenadines has sometimes appeared to be a step ahead of Barbados in certain legislative reforms, none more stark than that of the adoption of legislation protecting against unfair dismissals, first enacted in Barbados in 2012 and yet a legislative reality in St Vincent & the Grenadines since 1979!

The subject matters of the recently enacted pieces of legislation should serve as a harbinger of the enormity of the legislative task that faces Barbados if we are to approve the therapeutic use of marijuana as announced. For one, if we are to avoid the patently ironic and foreign exchange depletive importation of the substance, then we are going to have to licence its local cultivation under certain regulated conditions. It should be noted that the cultivation of cannabis is currently an offence in Barbados. According to the local Act-

(1) Subject to any regulations under section 12, it shall not be lawful for a person to cultivate any plant of the genus Cannabis, any coca plant or opium poppy… and

(2) Subject to section 39, it is an offence to cultivate any such plant in contravention of subsection (1).

In this connection, the proposed Vincentian statute envisages initially, the declaration of an amnesty period, whereby a qualifying person as stipulated who, in or before that period, is or was engaged in the criminal cultivation of cannabis shall be entitled to the relief provided –

Notwithstanding any provisions of the Drug (Prevention of Misuse) Act or any other relevant enactment, no criminal proceedings shall be taken against a qualifying person who complies with the provisions of this Act and the conditions of a traditional cultivation licence issued under this Act during the amnesty period.

In order to be treated as a “qualifying person”, the cultivator must register with the to-be established Medical Cannabis Authority by submitting certain prescribed information and surrendering all cannabis in his or her possession to the said Authority. Once the information submitted by the individual is verified by the Authority, it then makes a recommendation to the Minister for the issuance to him or her of a certificate of amnesty in the prescribed form and subject to stipulated conditions, including whether there is the intention on the part of the qualifying person to apply for a Traditional Cultivator’s Licence pursuant to the Medical Cannabis Authority Act. If so, this must be notified in writing to the Authority.

Another item addressed in the slate of Vincentian legislation although scarcely lobbied for in Barbados in recent years is located within the Permitted Use of Cannabis for Religious Purposes Bill. This novel statute is styled

“An Act to provide for the decriminalization of the use of cannabis as a sacrament in adherence to a religious practice by such religious bodies as may be prescribed by Order of the Minister, including, but not limited to, the Rastafarian faith, at their place of worship and at an event declared by Order of the Minster to be an exempt event, for the purposes of this Act and for matters and purposes incidental thereto”.

In this Bill, a person who is an adherent of a religious body, including but not limited to the Rastafarian faith, or an organization comprising of (sic) such persons, may cultivate, possess, transport, supply and use cannabis for religious purposes. Immediately, certain questions beg asking. For instance, while it is by now notorious that certain members of the Rastafarian faith use marijuana for sacramental purposes, one may legitimately wonder which other religious bodies do such. The Bill does not supply a direct answer, although in a provision that comes close, in my view, to infringing the separation of Church and State and the concomitant guarantee of freedom of religion, religious faith is defined as “a religious faith designated by the Minister by Order under section 4, as a religious faith for the purposes of this Act”, thus leaving the designation as a matter entirely for the state.

Of necessity, the Bill also proposes the non-applicability of legislation such as the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, the Drug Trafficking Offences Act, and the Proceeds of Crime Act to render unlawful the cultivation, possession , supply and use of cannabis in accordance with the provisions.

The Act is not entirely a religious adherent’s charter for the use of marijuana however. According to Clause 3 (2)-

“For the avoidance of doubt, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there is an intention to contravene the provisions of section 6 or 7 or 8 of the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, subsection (1) shall not restrict the exercise of the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions from prosecuting a person for a relevant offence under that Act or any other relevant enactment.

These sections treat the possession and cultivation of marijuana. And it appears, any cannabis used for religious purposes must be homegrown. Clause 7 of the Bill mandates-

“No person shall import cannabis into St. Vincent and the Grenadines for religious purposes”.

The content of these two Bills signal that Barbados may have some other matters to consider before settling on a comprehensive legislative machinery for marijuana use. The governing administration has already made it clear that any legalization or decriminalization thereof must be subject to popular affirmation in a referendum. Few would doubt however that the legalization of marijuana for medical use will not lead to a likely upsurge in its recreational use, given the increased availability. Future legislation must therefore address issues such as the public use of marijuana, the circumstances of its cultivation and distribution including especially their location and accessibility to minors, and its link with the control of motor vehicles and other activities. We may still have some way to go.

151 responses to “The Jeff Cumberbatch Column – For Medical Use Only”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    What?

    *smell test

  2. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Since the emergence of the Rastafarian Movement (1945 circa) a Caribbean elitist, maybe colonial, mindset has bedeviled it.

    And Rasta is not unique in having a religious rationale for marijuana, other substances. There are several others.

    We remember well when Rastafarians we knew were beaten, denied due process, incarcerated, shot for foolishness by state-sponsored violence workers.

    The wider society also has to be condemned for an irrational response to Rastafarianism. Now that aspects of the movement are starting to gain ‘legitimacy’ we trust that reparations will be demanded.

    In Cuba, a country well loved, you could not wear dreadlocks unless you were an artist. But in Barbados, Rasta was shot for wearing dreads.

    And yes, we have elsewhere been highly critical of Rasta because it seemed to never have an economic agenda. Meaning that there was never a coherent vision to commodify a natural, healthy lifestyle. its music, as a viable export, the definition of what was Caribbean. People in Japan, to this day, still expect everybody from the region to be Rasta.

    But even if Rasta had such a collective ‘sight’ no parliament or set of elite forces would have changed legal remiges for Rasta to corner the marketplace for ganga, for example. Even now, traditional ‘drug’ stores are being seen as the sales outlets. How is it possible for the Rasta woman to have paid such a price, but Knights Pharmacy is to mek all the sew-n-sew money. Anybody with such a policy has to be an idiot. Could we not envisage a parallel economy controlled by those who were at the forefront of this social movement?

    Now that Western countries have now decided that a plant given us by the Great Mother can be traded on their stock markets, we in the Caribbean, feel that the correct permissions have now been granted for us to do that which we can only do – follow White people looking for crumbs.

    What sense does it make being small unless one has vision, is agile, more responsive to threads, or setting social patterns, than the big lumbering giants. At this rate we will never be able to be first at anything. far less dominate spheres of economic activity.

    For marijuana, the marketplace is already domination by forces which fledgling legislative frameworks and infrastructures would find impossible to overcome. We are 50 years tooo late. We wonder who are the geniuses we have telling us what the world will be like in another 50 years, lest we repeat.

    Not even now, are we witnessing even a readiness to consider the business cycle in crafting developmental responses to the hundred billion dollar business which is marijuana, cannabinoids, etc

    How much longer can a society pretend to have a right to exist when the peoples of the Caribbean are no more than sheeple awaiting a butcher to thus make mutton of us all?

    We wish to thank the writer for drawing to our attention the disparity in legal regimes, as proposed, between Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. For this comparison clearly highlights the backwardness of Barbados.

  3. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    totally sweet as s$%^&e….pursuit for pursuant…scrutiny by as well as small island….

    just legalize and empty the prisons of all those minor offence incarcerations.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    “What sense does it make being small unless one has vision, is agile, more responsive to threads, or setting social patterns, than the big lumbering giants. At this rate we will never be able to be first at anything. far less dominate spheres of economic activity.”

    Go to the head of the class.

  5. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    trends

  6. YvonneLexicon Avatar
    YvonneLexicon

    Pachamama

    I remember quite well when the Rastafarians in Barbados were being victimized by the police in Barbados …the one case the sticks out in my mind is when the police cut off the locks of a young Rastafarian in public… this case gained public attention back in the late to early 80s …

  7. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    Lexicon

    We remember well.

    What is most hurtful is that Rastas paid the price.

    Now that money could be made instead of organizing the people who paid the social price to now reap the benefits …………..

    We see, arguably, the most progressive PM to head a government, in Barbados, proposing to let Western-styled pharmacies mek all de RH money. Reminds us of slavery, again!

  8. Heather Cole Avatar
    Heather Cole

    I firmly believe that we are completely missing the boat if marijuana can only be used for medicinal purposes and must be prescribed by a medical practitioner.
    We have already discovered that there are a variety of manufacturing goods to be developed from marijuana. Some of these are for medical purposes and some are not.
    In my opinion it does not make practical sense to legislate the use of marijuana for restricted medical purposes when the island can benefit economically from the creation of by products and export them for much need foreign exchange.

  9. Heather Cole Avatar
    Heather Cole

    Is known where the marijuana will originate? Who will do the analysis for CBD content? How will it reach the formulary and in what form? Will it be oil or dried? Will this be done in Bim?

  10. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    This type of operation could be replicated in Barbados.

  11. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    U.S. NEWS
    Hemp industry expected to blossom under new Farm Bill
    “This is a cultural shift,” said one purveyor of cannabidiol, CBD, a compound derived from hemp.

    A volunteer walks through a hemp field at a farm in Springfield, Colorado on Oct. 5, 2013.P. Solomon Banda / AP file
    SHARE THIS —
    Dec. 16, 2018 / 3:13 PM ET
    By Dennis Romero
    The U.S. hemp industry is expecting business to expand and investors to beckon after Congress on Wednesday passed farm legislation that included a provision to legalize and regulate the plant under the Department of Agriculture.

    “This is a monumental bill for hemp farming,” said Lauren Stansbury of the Hemp Industries Association.

    The bill, awaiting President Trump’s signature, opens the door to state-by-state regulation, removes hemp from the federal enforcement of outlaw drugs, and gives hemp farmers access to banking, crop insurance and federal grants, experts said.

    That could open the industry — which produces therapeutic cannabidiol (CBD), fabric, rope and even ethanol — to a wave of investment.

    “This is a cultural shift,” said Bomi Joseph, creator of CBD product creator of ImmunAG. “CBD is going to explode. I think the market is going to triple in size.”

    Cannabidiol has been touted as an elixir that can do everything from cure cancer to tame menstrual cramps, but so far the U.S. Food and Drug administration has only approved a specific formulation of CBD to treat seizures associated with rare forms of epilepsy.

    The bill “puts forth a whole-plant definition of hemp including extracts,” said Stansbury of the Hemp Industries Association. “We’re not just talking stalk or flower. Any product derived from hemp is a legal consumer product.”

    But for now at least the FDA could stand in the way.

    It states that CBD products can’t be sold as dietary supplements and that those making medical claims are illegal without its approval. However, the FDA aims its most serious enforcement efforts at products “marketed for serious or life threatening diseases,” according to a statement.

    And the dietary supplement exclusion could be revisited, the administration has stated. “The FDA could allow it to be regulated as food and dietary supplements,” said Shawn Hauser of the Colorado law firm Vicente Sederberg, which worked on the hemp legislation.

    Related
    Scientists search for marijuana’s holy grail — consistent highs
    Under the bill CBD products derived from hemp and containing 0.3 percent or less of the high-inducing cannabinoid THC will be considered legitimate.

    “It would no longer be controlled under the DEA’s purview,” said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Mary Brandenberger.

    Cannabis market data firm New Frontier recently projected that the American CBD market could reach $2.3 billion in revenues by 2022. Hemp-derived CBD (it can also come from other forms of cannabis) was expected to be worth more than half that total.

    “The recent Farm Bill will have significant impacts on this channel as companies begin moving into mass market retailers now that hemp will be removed from the Controlled Substances Act,” Nick Olsen, a spokesman for New Frontier, said via email.

    The organization Vote Hemp said in summer that U.S. revenues for the total plant in 2017 were at a little more than $800 annually and growing.

    Now hemp enthusiasts expect to see more CBD and hemp-derived products at mass market retailers in the months and years to come. “This bill will make hemp explode,” said Erica McBride, executive director of the National Hemp Association.

    The legislation will also allow transportation across state lines, academic research, production on tribal lands, and state regulation, including prohibition. In fact, experts expect it to take about a year for states to work out their own regulations or allow federal law to supersede.

    They said about 40 states already had some form of hemp pilot program. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed the hemp provision vociferously, saying that a pilot program in his own home state has “become a booming success.”

    “Its uses range from food and pharmaceuticals to home insulation and automotive parts,” he said in a statement. “Enthusiastic farmers quickly applied to plant the crop in their fields. Entrepreneurs opened businesses selling hemp-based products. And consumers got to enjoy a whole new set of goods featuring American-made hemp.”

    Not everyone is so excited.

    The Drug Policy Alliance, one of the nation’s most potent champions for cannabis legalization, didn’t take a position on the farm bill. The group tried to strike language that prohibits folks with drug convictions from working in the industry for 10 years.

    “We’re not celebrating,” said Grant Smith, DPA”s deputy director of national affairs. “For people who have a recent conviction it’s essentially a de facto ban.”

    “There’s all this talk of criminal justice reform and here we have this brand new legalized industry that could create a lot of new jobs in areas where they’re badly needed,” he said. “They’re going to be deterred from contributing to our economy. It doesn’t make any sense.”

    Dennis Romero
    Dennis Romero writes for NBC News

  12. Lexicon Avatar
    Lexicon

    Mariposa

    It would be interested to ascertain as to why Bob Marley died of cancer after smoking 10 pound of marijuana a day? You gine tell me now that he didn’t die of cancer but of AIDS…

  13. SimpleSimon Avatar
    SimpleSimon

    I know nothing about the legal nor religious matters. I may be the only person in the world, who came of age in the 1960’s who has NEVER tried marijuana. I few years ago I found a big marijuana tree, maybe 5 feet tall growing on my property. I didn’t call the police as I felt that that might complicate matters. I cut it down and chucked it into the nearest well. Now that I am old and awaken every morning with severe pain in my hands–pain so severe that one morning last week, I thought to myself, surely dead must be better. I am wondering now if i should not have kept “my” marijuana tree, and if marijuana would not ease the pain in my hands. I will ask my doctor on my next visit. But look I could have had my own free supply.

    I am wondering if the tree has regrown, like how clammy cherry trees, and river tamarind trees constantly regrow.

    I haven’t checked lately, but maybe I should check this week.

  14. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    This, as Mr Hal Austin is accustomed saying is going to end in tears

    Economically speaking, de cuntry is so far behind the eight ball that starting now simply does not make sense.

    As Pachamama has pointed out we are 50 years late

    As the LUMINARY Jeff Cumberbatch has pointed out our law matrix is deficient

    As Mariposa has pointed out, we do not have the local skills to compose coherent laws, as the recent drafting of the fees incurred for breach of the integrity in public life 1938 act shows.

    One might have suggested that Ralph Thorne QC be used to draft the legislation but it has appeared that he is now disqualified himself and compromised his integrity ratings

    One would have asked Arfur Holder to draft the laws but his daily schedule with Speakdr of the House and running to represent drug traffickers make him similarly unavailable

    Den dere is Teets and Pain but their involvement with Ermine Atwell s matter seems to disqualify them as well

    Then there is Oblong head Kerrie but his tax ting show he ent no brainiac

    Then there is Eddie but Patrick King s campaign on social media suggest that Eddie moth deep in alot of foreign chvunt and may not be focused on these issues

    Nope we may not be ready for this at all.

  15. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    @ the Honourable Blogmaster your assistance please

    @ the LUMINARY Jeff Cumberbatch

    So what if I

    am transporting non medical marijuana but I have medical marijuana commingled with it, will

    1.the police officer I meet be able to spot test my product? by what means?

    2.if I have 283 lbs like the Goddards man, of which 1/2 is medical marijuana will j get half the sentence?

    3.will the medical marijuana that is part of my shipment be recirculated into main stream use, before or after my case, so that bajans can benefit? or will it be burned at see being that it is guilty by association?

    4.can chaes Herbert retroactively argue that his shipment is de facto medical marijuana to be processed?

  16. David Avatar
    David

    Let us understand your position. The plan is to do nothing?

  17. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    Medical marijuana has its purposes.

    I believe that it does have healing properties.

    However the enabling matrix to maintain and administer it DOES NOT EXIST IN BARBADOS AND NEVER WILL

    import what is needed under license and administer it from there.

    Everything else is going to end in more deaths David mark de ole man’s words

    We cant even queue for a bus in orderly fashion and you and the rest here AND MUGABE think that diversification is going to be achieved by growing ganja?

    STEUPSEEE

  18. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    I posted the above article as a notation to small island countries who are quick and hastened to jump on the marijuana medicinal bandwagon
    The article is one to send a message that America is poised and ready to slam shut its doors by not allowing and will be hesitant to the importantation of cannabis from other countries especially small island nations who have already been tested and tried and as shown to be unable to manage their own economies
    Therfore in quick and orderly fashion America will be growing and cultivating marijuana for sourcing their own pharmaceutical needs
    Now the question which small islands should ponder and ask ..with all other large countries already in the race who will they be selling the product to
    I submit that when all is said and done small island market would be deluge with a glut of marijana or cannabis products being distributed mostly amongst their own people resulting in a decaying social enviroment all ending in 😢

  19. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    It may be better to do nothing.
    That way we are less likely to squander valuable resources in legal fees and consultancies like we do in everything else.

    Boss… if we are unable to make a success of sugar – which we have grown for CENTURIES – and where we once led in GLOBAL research, …what chance do you think we have of making an economic success of something like Mary J?

    We need to learn to CRAWL before we waste resources trying to compete in the global olympics of the drug trade.
    Who can you identify in Barbados with the COMPETENCE and the resources to make something like this work…?

    LONG ago, Bushie and Miller called for the shiite laws about Mary J to be SCRAPPED …and this idiocy of locking up people for growing COMMON bush be abolished.
    The same way that Bushie could cook up some spinach and garlic from the kitchen garden, he should be able to add a pinch of Mary J to the damn salad – or even to smoke it – if he was an idiot.

    The damn government should concentrate of establishing the RULE OF LAW; a level playing field; and a national strategy to guide growth, development and progress….
    Of course we all know that they lack the ability to even SEE that this is their role …far less to do it….

    Steupsss..
    GRASS…!

  20. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    Mariposa…do some research and stop. posting rubbish..

    “Everything else is going to end in more deaths David mark de ole man’s words”

    Only if they do not grow their own..and make their own medicine..it is imperative that people make their own medicine.

    Of course the Rasta Community will insist on growing and producing/processing their own which will be the intelligent, safest and healthiest thing to do.

  21. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    “In my opinion it does not make practical sense to legislate the use of marijuana for restricted medical purposes when the island can benefit economically from the creation of by products and export them for much need foreign exchange.”

    Not restrict but one step at a time, government ministers and lawmakers are not exactly known for being multitaskers, they are already tunnel visioned and myopic, ya dont want them screwing it up…so tackling legislation for hemp and other marijuana derived products for market can follow medical marijuana legislation, which is dire at this time because of the one hospital ……

    ….and recreational marijuana legislation can follow byproducts legislation…in uniformity…so they can get it right…I already don’t trust theri corrupt asses, ya don’t want to leaden them down with confusion then they get greedy and sell out to some white crook from Canada US or UK..

  22. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Pacha,

    “What sense does it make being small unless one has vision, is agile, more responsive to threads, or setting social patterns, than the big lumbering giants. At this rate we will never be able to be first at anything. far less dominate spheres of economic activity.”

    I have always thought that there should be advantages to being small but we seem to be squandering them all. We need to start from scratch with our self image. We need to stop defining ourselves by the standards of the lumbering giants.

    This is our BIGGEST problem.

    P.S. My attitude towards marijuana changed several years ago the moment I sat and thought about it. We need to pause and THINK. There are things we need to think about. Or we will always be playing catch up.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    There is no innovation required to implement leaving laws. We are a nation of laws.

  24. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    We are a nation of laws. Almost choke on my tea when i read that comment
    We have a justice system that cannot get its house in order
    So much (so) that our newly elected PM who was given a 30-0 vote takes that as a mandate to squash and void cases at will
    Now on a deliberate path to tread uncharted waters among the bigger Fish of the global markets attempting without having a clue of involvement what measures must be taken to trade cannabis in the open market
    Once again i reiterate that Barbados has failed in writing laws that are comprehensive and sufficient and enough when engaging or trading in a global market
    Many here seems to be of an opinion that the buying and selling of cannabis would simply apply to the laws and regulations of barbados
    Opps those of that thought need to understand the scope and magnitude of barbados interaction with the global community and the effects and impact which can give a cause and a reason for those countries to whom we will be selling marijuana to be concerned

  25. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David 4:21

    What makes it worse is that for over a hundreds years we were utilizing most of our arable lands planting another crop (sugar cane) which is arguably more dangerous than ganga.

    Moreover, we’ve been doing so under market price, dependent on insufficient subsidies, running up massive debt just to keep the social construction in place.

    It certainly can’t help when we continue to mis-education people like Walter ‘the 11-plus slave boy’ Blackmon.

  26. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    You DO NOT allow other people to make your medicine..not when ya can make it yaself…CRIMINALS willl sell you poison to inflate their profits..

    http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/223732/convicted-canadian-barbados-plans-denied

    “A Canadian convicted of selling millions of dollars in fake prescription drugs to Americans, a case that involved Barbados, is waging a legal battle to travel here.

    But United States District Judge Dana L. Christensen, concerned that Kristjan Thorkelson’s journeying to Barbados would disrupt the terms of his supervision, and impair the US Probation Office’s ability to monitor his “financial situation and activity”, has said no – twice.

    According to court documents released by the US District Court of Montana’s Butte Division, on April 17, Thorkelson, CanadaDrugs.com and several other companies associated with him, admitted to widespread illegal sales of misbranded and counterfeit prescription drugs in the United States.

    The companies named included Rockley Ventures Ltd, a company based in Barbados, and the US Department of Justice thanked law enforcement colleagues in Canada, the United Kingdom and Barbados “for their involvement in the case”. (SC)

  27. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ pieceuhderockyeahright December 17, 2018 4:17 AM
    Medical marijuana has its purposes.
    I believe that it does have healing properties.
    However the enabling matrix to maintain and administer it DOES NOT EXIST IN BARBADOS AND NEVER WILL
    import what is needed under license and administer it from there.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Import it and pay for it with whose foreign money?
    The IMF loans needed to prop up the almost bankrupt country’s balance of payments including payments for oil, processed foods, electronic gadgets and trinkets from China and other South Eastern Asia Tiger economies?

    One of the biggest leakages of Barbados’s foreign exchange is through the underground (illegal) ganga trade which has made Vincentian former banana farmers into millionaires.

    What’s wrong with growing cannabis for medicinal and culinary uses in Coffee Gully in St. Joseph in order to save forex whether via the underground pipeline or through the local synthetic pharmaceutical commission agents?

    The majority of Bajans do not ‘smoke’ ganga. So why would there be any change in this ‘statistic’; if the herb is sourced locally?

    How come the local production and sale of rum is not an illegal activity yet the majority of church-going Bajans are Not alcoholics or cigarette chain smokers (so they claim)?

  28. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    This is beside the point but he majority of Bajans don’t go to church.

  29. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    Besides, if Mia goes hooking up with another crooked Canadian to rip off the cannabis trade from the majority population as RUMOR has it she is…..no solid proof provided…..hopefully it ends up like it did with that crook Canadian above and THIS TIME…Barbados government ministers GO TO PRISON…as well.

  30. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @Donna December 17, 2018 9:45 AM

    So let us rephrase that catch-all ‘claim’:

    ‘The majority of Jesus-loving-gluttonous-imported-processed-food-consuming Bajans are neither rum-drinkers nor Chinese-distributed-tobacco lovers’.

    The graven of the argument is that much forex (already a rather scarce ‘foreign commodity’ on the Island) could be saved if the cannabis for local uses in whichever form could be sourced from ‘organic’ farmers ready to supply culinary entrepreneurs and herbal pharmacists to satisfy the Bajan niche market including visitors to the island wishing to ‘experience’ a taste (and whiff) of the Island’s ‘green’ Gold.

    There was No referendum when the ‘innocent’ plant was deemed to be a criminal called Satan and classified as Public Enemy No.1. Why is one required now that it has been exonerated as innocent victim of American big business lobbying scams?

  31. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    It goes back to the point Bush Tea made. Barbados was the leader in the different sugar cane plants and the system of ratooning in the 70s and 80s. We have invested billions in education and the first thought that comes to mind is ‘we cant’.

  32. Redguard Avatar
    Redguard

    C’mon Mia is just a puppet in all of this. The puppet masters whoever they are will decide when the cannabis trade will begin.

    It might be that they are eyeing Barbados for processing rather than growing. That’s what I would do. If we look at this from a supply chain perspective, Barbados is more suited for Tier 1, St. Vincent Tier 2 . We have a source of skilled labour (scientists and lab technicians) and the infrastructure needed for a processing and distribution

    St. Vincent moving faster than us on this is nothing to do with laws and all to do with money and forex. Ever see American Marines in Barbados burning marijuana fields.

    For Barbados the money is not in growing but in processing and distribution. Think Swiss chocolate, they sell at a premium but don’t pay the farmers in Trinidad who supply them a premium.

  33. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Redguard December 17, 2018 10:46 AM

    Solid argument, there!
    Your analysis clearly reflects your Helicopter view of that money-making trade.

    Laws are designed to suit the business climate, not the other way around; unless there is a policy to drive the trade underground to satisfy some money-class vested interest like the spirits-producing and pharmaceuticals-making lobbies.

    You analogy about Swiss chocolate encapsulates the future of the cannabis business with Canada leading the pack after Holland.

    The whole objective of these black puppets governments in the Caribbean is to prevent the economic enfranchisement of the black entrepreneurial class and keep the majority of the naïve population dependent on the imported synthetic drugs of big Pharma and to protect the financial interests of the licensed drug dealers called pharmacies.

  34. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    “Once again i reiterate that Barbados has failed in writing laws that are comprehensive and sufficient and enough when engaging or trading in a global market….”

    Mariposa

    Without using your usual metaphors and generalized statements….. do you mind presenting the evidence…or examples…… to this forum that substantiates your above comment?

  35. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    Mia can show she CARES by allowing those with marijuana prescriptions access to PERMITS to GROW at least 4 PLANTS at a time…to process their OWN MEDICINE…there are many ways to process the plant and ALL CAN BE DONE AT HOME.

    That will ELIMINATE…the threat of shite medicine and pharmaceuticals being added to an extraction by crooks like the above Canadian..

    All this will have to be taken very slowly to get it right..

  36. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @Mariposa,

    Again you are right. Ordinary people have lost confidence in the criminal and civil justice systems, in lawyers and officers of the courts. Therefore, people have doubt as to the integrity of the system, not just in the poor quality of legal drafting.
    As I have said before, don’t just read what contributors say, analyse their modus operandi, the points at which they intervene in discussions ad their discursive language. You can build a psychological picture of who they are and what their motives are.
    There is as difference between someone saying you are wrong, but is not prepared to say why you are wrong and, just as important, what they perceive is right.

  37. The Truth Shall Set You Free Avatar
    The Truth Shall Set You Free

    “As I have said before, don’t just read what contributors say, analyse their modus operandi, the points at which they intervene in discussions ad their discursive language. You can build a psychological picture of who they are and what their motives are.
    There is as difference between someone saying you are wrong, but is not prepared to say why you are wrong and, just as important, what they perceive is right.”

    @ Hal Austin

    According to one contributor, you are dishonest, I but noticed that you’re a coward as well. You always say Mariposa is right, but go on to discuss something completely different than what she meant. Your real agenda is clear, you use Mariposa as your basis to attack a particular contributor who asks her questions, because you’re too much of a coward to confront that contributor. Therefore, you must have been looking in your mirror when you wrote the above because you described yourself accurately.

    Many of us have already built a psychological picture of you and are aware of what your motives are. To prove to us, as TheOGazerts opined, that you’re the most intellectual contributor.

    You’re should be the last one to write about “discursive language,” when you ALWAYS refer to everyone as appallingly ignorant and the blogmaster as a semi illiterate silly man. I also noticed when Robert Goren called you a silly man you were offended.

    You always come to Barbados Underground looking for an argument or to pick a noise with someone. Ohhhh, I forgot, you’re Bajan, so it’s a cultural thing. Despite how long you were living in the UK, you’re still a Bajan.

    Bush Tea is correct, YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!!

  38. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @The truth,

    Cowardice is writing nonsense from behind a mask. Have ordinary people in Barbados lost confidence in the criminal and civil justice systems? Is Mariposa right for reiterating that point? If so, is it right to point that out? Is that not on point? I have been called lots of things, but never a coward. I am prepared to debate with anyone on BU on issues I think are important.

  39. The Truth Shall Set You Free Avatar
    The Truth Shall Set You Free

    With the nonsense you write sometimes, I believe you should save face and write behind a mask also.

    You want to tell me where in Mariposa’s contribution she said that ordinary people in Barbados lost confidence in the criminal and civil justice systems? You created that interpretation as your basis to attack a particular contributor, because you are a dishonest coward.

    Your idea of being prepared to debate with anyone on BU on issues you think are important, is to hold fast to the position that you are always correct, disregarding the opinions of others because you believe everyone else is wrong, insult those you do not agree with you by calling them semi illiterate or silly and run away from the debate by saying “I’m out of the discussion,” if things don’t go your way. You are not man enough to stand up to those who oppose your point of view without insulting them. That is how a COWARD behaves.

    Why you did not continue the debate on your rum definition folly with WARU and Robert Goren? Goren called you a silly man and you ran away.

    You take great delight in “mocking” the mistakes of others, as you do to the blogmaster, but get angry when anyone mentions your mistakes. That is the behavior of an insecure man.

    Maybe you believe insulting people is a sign of bravery, but that is a sure sign of cowardice and insecurity.

    Then you want to come here playing pseudo psychiatrist.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    If a commenter wants to mock let them.

  41. Lexicon Avatar
    Lexicon

    Hal Austin

    It has been said with justification that every man has a right to his own opinion and way of life? And that he also has a right to be a slave if he desires? And that if he does not assert and defend his rights he deserves slavery?

  42. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    The same ones who get here on BU and cuss the politicians are the same one who now has a bandwagon mentality in beliving in that the system would be of good service and do right by its people when writing laws to regulate the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
    Not one to say that “we as a people cannot achieve or take care of our own affairs
    However not under a system of goverence that have the better part of the hierarchy always having hands outstretched at the govt trough

  43. Lexicon Avatar
    Lexicon

    Maybe I was mistaken, but I thought we were all adults here? In any event, I found this quote for some yall scholars here: Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. And intelligent people ignore.

  44. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    I dont understand the constant belittling of one individual comments
    As a regular on BU over the years i have been able to stand my ground
    I never seek validation or compromise in a way to change my opinion
    If people dont like what i say they are free to disagree but it has never or will never change my point of view on how i see issues

  45. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    Ha ha some individuals here take themselves and they opinions so seriously ..seriuosly enough to make their heads swell
    You guys need to chill

  46. Lexicon Avatar
    Lexicon

    Come on now … men are suppose to bicker … it undermine our masculine core … plus it is emotionally irresponsible for a man to argue over trivialities …

  47. Hal Austin Avatar
    Hal Austin

    @The Truth,

    You are on a blog that has been running for days about senior QCs with-holding money from colleagues; the blog has written numerous times about lawyers allegedly defrauding clients; we have herd for years about a no deceased woman being robbed of her numerous plantation.
    You are insulting @Mariposa by suggesting I am using her to attack someone; ray, who is that person? You mention the blogmaster. David BU will tell you that I am a big supporter of BU; the difference is that I believe that as chairman/bandmaster he should be impartial; if, however, he uses his esteemed position to join in debates, we either have to give him a free pass, agree or remain silent. My position is if he joins debates as an ordinary contributor and is wrong (or I do not agree) then I call him out, challenge him. It is for him to then defend his position. I am not looking for acceptance nor am I looking for any position, paid or voluntary, so upsetting people is not my concern. This is not a popularity contest..
    Like most people, I am often wrong, but I am honestly wrong. To debate is not to say I am always right, that is a juvenile idea. It is to say I am always prepared to learn. I believe in an open market for ideas. If that is a mark of insecurity then I plead guilty.
    You go back to the rum discussion, which I thought had been laid to bed. What I said, was there is a need for a legal definition of Barbados rum; a number of people mentioned Mount Gay, which is a brand. If the debate has reached aa stage when we are not going to agree then I withdraw. I am absolutely right about a legal definition of Barbados (Bajan) rum. It is an old debate outside Barbados.
    If Barbadian policy-makers do not see the need for a legal definition of their product, then when the Chinese (or whoever) brings out a foreign Bajan rum they cannot complain. I am not even a rum drinker, Barbadian or otherwise.
    Nor am I a psychiatrist, pseudo or otherwise. Even though you are anonymous, I will endeavour to answer any further questions.

  48. WARU Avatar
    WARU

    “However not under a system of goverence that have the better part of the hierarchy always having hands outstretched at the govt trough”

    Was that how DLP got into trouble with high debts to a fly by night operation like Innotech…???

  49. Mariposa Avatar
    Mariposa

    The past govt had two choices let the peoole in the drought affected areas go without water
    Or find a solution
    Innotech might not have been the best solution but it was better than the option of letting those living in drought affected areas have no water
    Now we have a new govt and if they are genuinely concern about the flaws in the agreement. (if any)they can negotiate

  50. SimpleSimon Avatar
    SimpleSimon

    What happened to the water rate payers money when water rates were raised by 60% during the David Thompson/DLP administration?

    What drought?

    Don’t we pay massive amounts of money every month to the desal plant whether water is delivered or not?

    Why was not some money spent to deliver that desal water to the upland areas, instead of paying whether the water is used or not.

    Don’t you think that some very, very bad decisions were made along the way?

    Why do we blame God or Mother Nature, instead of blaming the bad decision makers?

    Isn’t the Atlantic Ocean not still full of water? Enough water to last Bajans for a million years or more?

    Was building a fancy building more important than using the rate payers money to provide adequate desal plants/water?

    I am yours faithfully

    Simple Simon

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