By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 4th May, 2018) – Prime Minister and Minister National Security Dr. Timothy Harris has hijacked the work of the local Marijuana Commission.
That is the position of the Opposition St.Kitts-Nevis Labour Party as put forward by Chairperson Marcella Liburd at the Party’s monthly press conference held on Wednesday 2nd May- at the Koi Building located on the Airport Road- in response to Dr. Harris’ recent statement saying no to the legalisation of marijuana as she shared her Party’s opinion that time has come to decriminalise marijuana.
“There was nothing level-headed at all about it [Dr. Harris’ statement] and it was extremely one-sided but we’ve become accustomed to this sort of behaviour from someone who is more totalitarian and dictatorship like than anything that we’ve ever seen in this country and so he doesn’t wait for the Commission to complete its job; he just hijacks it (and) comes in and makes a pronouncement that ‘ no decriminalisation, no legalisation –nothing going on with this marijuana here in St.Kitts and Nevis so I don’t know why the commission people continue to waste their time and the money of the people of St.Kitts and Nevis’,” she stated.
Liburd disclosed that the Regional Commission on Marijuana was established by the decision of the 25th Intersessional Meeting of CARICOM heads of government in March of 2014 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Now if the marijuana issue reach the heads of government, you would know how very important an issue it is for the heads and certain people of the Caribbean. The heads mandated the establishment of a regional commission to address the issues identified and any other deemed relevant in order to provide clear guidelines, clear guidance to the conference with regard to decisions to be taken. The objective was to conduct a rigorous inquiry into the social economic, health and the legal issues surrounding marijuana use in the Caribbean with a view towards recommending whether there should be changes in the classification of marijuana for religious, recreational, medical and research purposes.”
According to Liburd, “based on a visit to St.Kitts and Nevis by the CARICOM Commission, we here set up a local commission which I understand is headed by D. [Hazel Laws] to carry out consultations throughout St.Kitts and Nevis and to report on their findings to the government.”
“The commission started out on its mission, its course and held several consultations with all sorts of persons of all walks of life and that mission is still not complete. Again, the whole point of the report is to inform policy because the Commission cannot make policy only the government can make policy so it’s just to inform policy,” she noted.
The SKNLP top official further remarked: “However, you could understand therefore the shock of the Commission and the people of St.Kitts and Nevis when they heard how the Prime Minister of St.Kitts and Nevis Dr. Timothy Harris hijack the work of the Commission …and laid down his own policy because he is the Prime Minister so he laid down his own policy in a one-sided rant which he made Friday at that ceremony.”
Liburd labelled Dr. Harris’ statement as being disrespectful.
“It was very disrespectful to the CARICOM Commission, to the local Commission and all those who genuinely thought their views would be heard when the commission held these consultations including Rastafarians and all other young people and local groups who turned out to these meetings to give their views.”
She continued: “So why not wait on the report? The point is when the report is presented to Cabinet, you don’t have to agree, you don’t have to accept it but at least have the common decency to wait on the report and not jump in and abort the work of the report without even a word to them; extremely disrespectful but that is Dr. Harris and you have to learn that that is how he is so as usual he does not allow the Commission to complete its works and disrespects the voice of the people.”
Liburd pointed out that when PM Harris was asked about the marijuana issue at his recent press conference “he referred to the commission as though he is allowing the Commission to do its work and then we have this coming from his (being) usually dishonest and deceptive.”
In giving the SKNLP’s opinion on the topic, she said: “Marijuana like alcohol, like prescriptions drugs, junk food and the like has its pros and its cons but we believe that the time has come to decriminalise marijuana. We can have a discussion on the details of that, what that entails but the time has come and so we can save our young men from jail and form becoming criminals from a spliff. Too many of our young men’s lives have been destroyed because of a spliff. They get a criminal record which in turn affects their ability to get a job, to get a Visa and in many instances, it turns them into criminals when they become frustrated by having a criminal record for a spliff. We are saying, we must put an end to this and give our young men a chance.”