So while the Briceno Administration thinks that now is the time to have a discussion on the establishment of a local marijuana industry, this bill is receiving opposition from conservative Belizeans who were already opposed to decriminalization.
This morning, Plus TV's Louis Wade reached out to the press to share his views that the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill should not move forward without a referendum to hear what the Belizean population wants.
Wade said, quote, "There is no doubt that the world is changing… But should this Administration change an illegal activity, Marijuana consumption… to a legal one, without a referendum?
Have they, our humble servants, now become our masters to determine right and wrong for us without our consent?
Have they now become our moral authority? When did they check with us?" End quote.
This morning, Kareem Musa, the Home Affairs Minister who tabled the amendment in the House last Friday, discussed it with the hosts of our SunUp On 7 morning show.
They asked him specifically about the pushback against the amendment:
SunUp Host
"There is talk about having a referendum to promote if we should be passing this. How do you feel about that idea?"
Hon. Kareem Musa - Minister of New Growth Industries
"I think the referendum - the referendum is always a good thing. But in this particular situation, where it is already decriminalized, what you're asking to do is to take something to a referendum that's already recreational. So, what are we gonna do in the event the referendum says no. Are we going to go back and say we're not going to allow 10 grams possession? That makes no sense. What we're actually doing with this piece of legislation is actually creating an industry out of what is already legal, already decriminalized, already recreational. And so, like I say time and time and time again, the real debate about whether or not we should have legalized marijuana in the country should have been in 2017, because it's already legal for you to walk on the street with 10 grams."
"We have to be aware of the realities in our country. And one of the realities is that Cannabis is used by many people, so many people, and it won't increase simply because we now have industry around it. They are using it, and they are using it legally today, whether it's for medicinal purposes, whether it's just free your mind, whether it's just to get away from all the stress you're going through, many people in our country use marijuana. You'd be surprised, and I would venture to say up to about 30% of our adult population actually use marijuana. So, it's not that we're now going into the use of marijuana. It's already in existence, and so, anybody that wants to debate has to understand where we're coming from. It already exists. It's already legal. It's now a matter of putting an industry around it that's not just safe, but as you said, you have to have an educational campaign. You definitely have to control it, regulate it, and so, it's not full legalization, per se. It's more a controlled, responsible approach, putting in law in place to regulate this particular substance."
