Dear Editor,
I compared and contrasted the recent statements by the American President, Barack Obama, and the Home Affairs Minister of Guyana on the issue of marijuana and its legalisation. The difference in their positions highlights the fact that plantation-type thinking and behaviour (the corpse of Western civilisation) is still very much a pervasive fact in Caribbean societies. This is evident in the way Caribbean leaders treat the Caribbean people.
The way Caribbean leaders treat their people presents a strange paradox. The paradox becomes even more strange when we see Caribbean people’s reaction, or lack thereof, to treatment by their leaders. It is hard to come to grips with the fact that a people that has endured the rigors and agony of enslavement and indentureship could have the capacity to treat others in any way inimical to the enjoyment of their basic freedom and rights; it is even more difficult to come to grips with the complacent attitude of the victims of these flagrant human rights abuses. This attitude defies logic; it militates against accepted and expected modes of thinking and acting. One would expect, logically, that a victim of rape would show pity and sympathy to other such victims, or a person who has lost a loved one in tragic circumstances show compassion towards others who are suffering the same fate. Social psychologists describe this attitude as empathy.
Caribbean peoples have emerged out of the worst system of oppression, exploitation and subjugation known to man. The methodical cruelty meted out against Caribbean people, particularly Africans, is unparalleled in the history of mankind. Yet, the descendants of those who were the perpetrators of these cruelties are now living is some of the most liberal societies as some of the staunchest advocates of human rights. Conversely, the descendants of the victims of these atrocities and unprecedented human rights abuses are now not only living in countries that are still grappling with the issues of human rights but are themselves perpetrators of some of the most dastardly acts. The case of Colwyn Harding presents us with a glaring example.
The marijuana issue is another example of plantation thinking and behaviour in the Caribbean. In Guyana, the penalty for the possession of anything above 15 grams of marijuana is no less than draconian. How does one explain the phenomenon of young men being forced to serve three or more years in prison among murderers, rapists, robbers and other hardened criminals for the possession and personal use of a plant that is scientifically proven to be less harmful and far more helpful to both humans and the environment than cigarettes and alcohol? There are many instances of persons going to prison for marijuana and coming out far from being rehabilitated (avowedly the objective of the prison system), as recidivists or hardened criminals (This is a classic example of penalties against the use of marijuana being more harmful to the individual than the use of marijuana itself.) How does one explain the phenomenon of young men being forever burdened with a criminal record on account of taking part in what is sometimes a transitory social current among their peers? How does one explain families being disrupted and at times destroyed because of the prolonged absence of the main breadwinner whose only crime was to choose a ‘spliff’ as opposed to an alcoholic drink or some cigarettes?
Caribbean leaders and lawmakers should now reappraise their stance on the marijuana issue and seriously study its ramifications. Many European countries (and now some American states) have done this and the result is far more leniency in the administering of penalties.
Yours faithfully,
Duane Edwards
