Dear Editor,
As a Guyanese youth, I am both sickened and amused at the shameless duplicity of Bharrat Jagdeo and his hypocritical posturing of support for the decriminalising of marijuana. This is to date his cheapest shot at attempting to gain political mileage.
It is Alliance for Change’s member, Michael Carrington, who introduced the proposed Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015, to the National Assembly, whose thunder Mr Jagdeo is attempting to steal.
It is commendable that Mr Jagdeo would see value in anything coming from the government side of the House. But it is instructive to note that from 1993, when he became a Member of Parliament and especially from 1999 to 2011 when he served as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Mr Jagdeo was disinterested in the decriminalisation of marijuana. As recently as 2011, at the launch of Guyana’s activities to celebrate the United Nations-designated International Year of the People of African Descent, he told the gathering at the then International Conference Centre of mostly Rastafarians that the promise to legalise marijuana could not be assured.
Now, faced with declining support and battling the loss of trust of the PPP, Mr Jagdeo is reinventing himself as a supporter of the cause of the youth and also large portions of Guyanese of African descent, like, for instance, Rastafarians. Mr Jagdeo’s expression is nothing but an empty, noisy klaxon fishing for sympathy and votes.
Again on July 9th, 2011, Mr Jagdeo was quoted as saying that he thought the “marijuana business” would “outlive his presidency” and that there would be “no change in the law whilst I am here”. Truth be told, Jagdeo was never concerned about somebody who has a tiny bit of a marijuana cigarette, who gets sentenced to three years.
The youths of Guyana are not easily fooled by Mr Jagdeo’s attempt to steal the limelight from Mr Carrington and the AFC.
Yours faithfully,
Cynthia Rutherford
President Youths for Change
Alliance for Change
