Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the letters by Timothy Jonas and Audreyanna Thomas on the issue of the legalization of marijuana and its societal impacts.
Jonas made a bold pronouncement on behalf of his political party that it will legalize marijuana if elected. It would definitely serve the public well if he could elaborate on the scope of the legalization that he is proposing. Over the next few months, this would certainly be asked frequently of Jonas and his party, which I assume will have a more fleshed out position as time goes on.
The Society of Marijuana Advocates for Reform and Treatment (SMART) has not called for outright legalization but for legal exemptions for religious, medical and scientific research and for households to be able to grow up to five plants on their premises. Decriminalization of the possession of a small amount of marijuana is also a central part of our platform.
Ms. Thomas in her writings made the assumption that legalization of the herb would mean that societal problems will increase and families and households would choose the substance over food and ‘milk’, as she puts it. She also made reference to Guyana being a poor country in terms of both human development and income and that as a result the country is poorly equipped to deal with potential “severe negative impact”. She also mentioned that Guyana is poised to become a high per capita income country as a result of oil and gas. If the latter is the case, then I guess we should not have much to worry about if all it takes is an increase in a country’s income to stave off any negative effects of marijuana being legal.
Whether or not our country’s per capita income increases (or even if marijuana is not legalized), the government has a legal responsibility to allocate funds towards the establishment of a rehab fund and an advisory council for rehab as stated in sections 65 to 72 of the 1988 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.
Perhaps funds from a marijuana tax can be used to establish and strengthen these institutions to mitigate any negative effects.
Yours faithfully,
Clinton Urling
For The Society of Marijuana Advocates for Reform and Treatment (SMART)
