Should Marijuana Be Legalized in Belize?
A writ of referendum by the Governor General is pending, following the announcement by the Chief Elections Officer that the churches have secured the necessary signatures to trigger taking the marijuana legislation to a vote. This means that by early September, the decision will be up to the voting population to determine whether the Cannabis and Hemp Control Licensing Bill (2022) should become law. The churches have opted not to speak at this time and on Monday, you heard from Minister of New Growth Industries Kareem Musa. So today; we headed to the streets to get various perspectives from residents. The reactions were a mixed bag – from consumers, as well as persons who were staunchly against marijuana use.
Bernard “Unlmtd” Cayetano
Bernard “Unlmtd” Cayetano, Resident
“Like I tell yo earlier, I kinda split ina two with the whole decision. I woulda want say yes, but I really woulda want say no because then you have to understand once marijuana get legalize, then the players weh di direct the game dah noh di players weh deh ina di game right now – dah businesses. Then dehn wah put it ina wah way that you need license, you need certificate and a whole pile a thing fi make you could sell weh you di sell. So to me job wah lose fi di ghetto youths weh di try – the ghetto youths weh can’t come out ah dehn area weh di try do something for themselves and dehn community so with that I say no.”
Errol Gentle
Errol Gentle, Resident
“First of all I am glad that it is going to a referendum because I think it is the people that need to decide. Personally I will vote no. I do not support it, but that is just my own personal opinion; the majority needs to decide if they want this to be law or not.”
Duane Moody
“Can you tell me why you would not support it?”
Errol Gentle
“I don’t smoke, I don’t believe that marijuana is good for you, but there’s a lot of things that aren’t good for you anyways. But personally I don’t use marijuana, I do not condone it, but whatever anyone wants to put in their bodies, it is up to them so let the people decide.”
Danalia Staine, Resident
“Marijuana should be legalized in the country because the opportunities we could get from the legalization of marijuana, we could provide more jobs for locals. They should legalize it cause the locals can use it to do hair moss, skin care and hair care as well.”
Demoi’s Williams
Demoi’s Williams, Resident
“When you look at other countries that have already legalized marijuana and what it’s done for their economy, it has it booming actually. So let’s look at it from we are in a recession, we are in an economic crisis, it would do wonders for us in that regard. Also marijuana does wonders for your mental health. Let’s be real about that. It doesn’t cause any adverse effects on a person so I think there are a lot of misconceptions [so] maybe an education campaign on the health benefits of marijuana would do well. But as somebody who suffers with anxiety and depression, I am for it, all for it. So for an economic standpoint, from a mental health standpoint, it’s a no-brainer that we should legalize marijuana. It is actually legal across from all fifty states in America. You see a lot of shops popping up, new entrepreneurship, new business opportunities. Every corner yo turn, it is either a THC or a CBD shop. I think we need to start distinguishing what the properties of this herb actually is. Like there is THC, there is CBD and there is medicinal properties on both sides of it. So you can’t cancel out the whole thing just because you don’t like the psychedelic aspects of it. I mean if yo take painkillers, what yo got against marijuana.”
