BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Mar. 20.2018 -FORMER Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin is of the view that it is time those in authority stop chasing after persons with marijuana because it is not financially prudent.
Rather, the outspoken former CMO thinks it is time the Federation benefit economically from its decriminalization.
“We should turn marijuana into a productive sector rather than spending EC $75 million chasing it from our criminal justice standpoint. The chasing of marijuana from a criminal justice standpoint is not cost effective, it is causing too much tension between the security services and the community, and people in the community.”
Dr. Martin, while a guest on WINN FM’s ‘Inside the News’ programme on Saturday, said the Marijuana Commission should stop where it is and “move into implementation mode”.
That comment comes against the backdrop of the Commission moving into the communities to begin surveying and holding town hall meetings to garner feedback on the way forward for marijuana in the Federation.
Currently, marijuana is classified as a Class A drug and is illegal in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“Marijuana is not controversial, it is part of the culture since the 1960’s. The number of persons using marijuana in this country is in the thousands and the population is 55,000,” Dr. Martin exclaimed.
He revealed that survey data has shown that one third of secondary school and college students have had contact with marijuana.
The former CMO stressed that what is controversial about marijuana in St. Kitts and Nevis is the continued demonizing of a plant created by God.
“Like all substances there is good, bad and indifferent. The dose is what matters, and science is what will help us to determine the dose. Spiritual and medicinal use of marijuana is to be decriminalized,” Martin added.
Over the last several years, the Rastafarian community in the Federation has implored the government to decriminalize marijuana use.
In the lead up to the Nevis Island Administration elections last year, the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) had pledged, if they were successful at the polls to have it decriminalized.
