The Davis administration is set to table legislation in the House Of Assembly legalizing medical marijuana.
Mandel Miller of the Bahamas National Drug Council is calling for public education ahead of the new legislation. He told ZNS News, “when you travel to jurisdictions where it is already legal, whether that be Colorado or any of the other states in the United States where its found legal, you would see the increase in the social need amongst the citizenry. And so ensuring that we have the necessary public education, what I call resistance education, to help our population better deal with this is what I think is going to be necessary. And I believe that the government is going to do their part to ensure that that happens. ”
Miller says the public should be educated on what the new laws on marijuana will be. I think too many times we encounter persons out there that believe we’re just legalizing marijuana and that’s not exactly what’s happening. The sale of marijuana in the current traditional form of what we call drug shops or dope houses will still be illegal. And so helping our population to understand that the changes are that are going to be made and how to engage with this new policy as it relates to marijuana is what’s going to be important. For example, we don’t want the public to believe or young people to believe that it’s going to be okay to stand up on the corner and smoke a joint before going to school or whilst your waiting on the bus.”
For more information on the government’s proposed marijuana legislation visit https://www.cannabisbahamas.gov.bs
