St Vincent gov't not yet prepared to 'free up the weed'

Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The St Vincent and the Grenadines government will not heed, at this time, calls for the decriminalisation of marijuana for recreational use. Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves said “unregulated consumption of recreational marijuana poses a number of risks and challenges that we do not currently have the data on which to make informed decisions, or the capacity to manage effectively”. Gonsalves said that while there will no doubt be populist calls to “free up the weed” in its entirety, his government “is not currently prepared to take that step”. In addition to the unknown risks and challenges, the government's regular scientific polling on the issue shows “a deep divergence of views on the issue of recreational marijuana in our society."