Along with hundreds of votes in our poll, over the past week we have received dozens of emails from viewers commenting on the police's controversial new Marijuana policy. We have culled some of those comments and would like to share them with you:
I think that weed should be legalized in Belize. For example I'm in America for the past five years but Belize is my home. I want to feel at home. I smoke but I don't want to get charge for a spliff, a spliff ain't nothing. Besides we ain't the ones smoking.I know police and politicians that smoke. And I think they should have more programs for troubles and incarcerated youths.
Hey this is absurd about the government trying to legalize marijuana. Drugs will always be drugs and if you have been watching CNN lately they gave a news that says the Europeans are now having problem with marijuana because of legalizing a small amount on each person and now it is costing the government more money to deal with the problem than it was before controlling it. We need to learn from the world and open our eyes. I used to smoke it but I'm against it because I know the problems it brings to the society and then more people would take the risk to grow it and to sell it which would be a bigger problem. It is foolishness for us to legalize marijuana.
I support the premise of what the government is trying to do it concentrating resources in appropriate areas. One word of caution should be that they reinforce that it is still illegal in order to avoid confusion on the part of the public. A recent reclassification by the UK did result in quite a number of people presuming marijuana was now legal including kids, which is probably where most education should take place.
PM Musa is using the 'legalize it' topic to win votes. If any body cant see that.
I agree, not because I am saying that smoking marijuana is the right thing to do. This is a story where the mirror has two faces. Looking at the obvious, it's easy to say arrest them, charge them throw them in jail. Now lets take a closer look. What did we just accomplish, nothing…Buy one stick of weed for lets say $3.00, get caught by the police, get arrested, charge and thrown in jail. Go to court only to pay $300.00. That is more than a average man makes in two weeks. A father is taken from his children, food is taken from his children and his humility as a man and I can go on. GOB should be putting more effort into going after the producers, traffickers, and dealers. You got my vote Ms Leslie. You go girl.
Can our Prime Minister or anyone do some mathematics? With all of the one stick marijuana loose on the street - add all the one stick on our country and you will find there is a good market for marijuana. If we agree, then we are telling someone to plant at will. If we agree, then we are telling our children that it is OK to smoke marijuana if he or she is not caught.
*Some comments have been edited for space and clarity.
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