Attorney Slams Government over New Weed Penalty

It fell under the radar after it was passed into law, but an attorney has brought to the fore a concern over new penalties one faces if they are charged with trafficking marijuana in Belize. Today, Dickie Bradley pointed out that the penalties, including prison time, as well as the fines and bail for someone who is caught with sixty grams of marijuana, have all been increased exponentially, to the point, in his view, of being ridiculous.

Dickie Bradley

Dickie Bradley, Attorney at Law

“ Not a one have heard that they pass a law. They passed a law for all drugs, ncluding weed. When you go to the Supreme Court for being a drug trafficker, the fine is a million dollars. Nobody knows that, first point, not even the media. We’re not told ahead of time. They’re not told when they do it. Nobody knows that the government sneaked through an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act, where the courts in this country, now staffed entirely by foreigners in the Supreme Court, can charge up to a million dollars. This is a very, very serious matter. You know why? We nuh business with cocaine or anything. They could charge 50 million dollars and hopefully spend the money on the South Side, but when it come to weed, they really do we wah low. Deh chance we because once it is on the law, trust me, a case will come where somebody will get it. That’s why they pass a law to punish people. A million dollars if you’re trafficking weed. If you have over 60 grams of marijuana in this country, you are a drug trafficker by law. The fine, the penalty is $10, 000 cash and 3 years in jail. And if you can’t pay the $10, 000 by the time the court tell you that, there is an additional 3 years on your sentence. That used to be the minimum. That has also changed. A progressive government would have said we will make an amendment to the law where it’s not 60 grams that makes somebody a drug trafficker. Start at 500 grams. They say they want to make money off of the thing. Make sure people don’t sell the weed. Sixty grams and you go into jail for 3 – and then change the 2 of them there to 20 years and $20, 000 without tell the people of Belize.”