The campaign to legalize cannabis on Caye Caulker has started up in earnest - with proponents and opponents campaigning on the ground, and on the airwaves. This week, the village councillor who started it all, Ilya Rosado, is making the media rounds. He wants to educate his constituents on what he says is a revenue generating initiative for his village:
Ilya Rosado, Councillor, Caye Caulker Village
"Cannabis is a plant that is already decriminalized. You can have 10 grams and it is legal for you to use and consume. But what we are trying to do is take this to the next step and use it as something good for the community by generating revenue. Through the legalization,, formalization of the market itself, because currently as it stands we have ten grams but there is nowhere we can get it from and this is what we are trying to change. bBt not just that also make it something positive that can come back to my community that has many needs in terms of helping for funding education, infrastructure and healthcare and of course our battle with sargassum."
"From the ministry of Home Affairs we got some at a in terms of what the market could possibly or potentially be worth and they seized and confiscated about 800 kilograms of cannabis in the last year that has a street value of around 2 million dollars. This possibly means that we could have had potential revenue of about 500k for our community in that case and that is the sort of revenue I would like to see for my community so we can help change and make schools better, build new roads which don't exist and we need resources to be able to do these things."
"What I want is for the people to be given a choice and this is a moment where no one has ever been given this choice before and now my community has the potential to make a choice and what I would like to see is just for people to make an educated decision when they go out and vote on October 8th."
The campaign for the proponents of legalization will also include two public conferences where experts and local leaders will provide a platform for open dialogue on the divisive issue.
And while Rosado says the campaign is about "education, transparency, and empowerment," the political dimension is undeniable. He has a ranking Minister on his side - but he also has to contend with the reality that referendums are non binding. I asked him about those factors:
Reporter
"Kareem Musa is in your ad, is he endorsing your campaign?"
Ilya Rosado, Councillor, Caye Caulker Village
"Yes. So going back to the pastors, it was actually the petition that Pastor Wade did that originally gave me the idea. I was wondering if he was able to stop that with a petition, I was wondering if it could work the other way around and I started to think about that idea."
"And then I reached out to Minister Kareem and he was able to offer advice given his legal background. And of course, he's also in support of the New Growth Industries on that side for cannabis."
Reporter
"A referendum is not binding upon the government. Are you concerned that it may all be symbolic, just a trial balloon?"
Ilya Rosado, Councillor, Caye Caulker Village
"I mean, it's possible, however, what I want is for the people to be given a choice. And this is a moment where no one has ever been given this choice before."
The referendum will be held on October 8th.
