Final Report - CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana 2018 Waiting to Exhale

clarification of issues where such necessity arose. The disadvantage of such meetings is that the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire population. Given this shortcoming, the focus groups allowed for breadth in data-gathering. Further, the Commission itself commissioned an online survey and a designed a questionnaire for police in the region to gather data. Importantly, the Commission also commissioned a specialist Economics Study to provide expert analysis on possible economic outcomes of law reform on cannabis, provided as Appendix E in this Report. Data on public attitudes to decriminalisation were also obtained for CARICOM countries from national surveys conducted by the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), national household surveys and national school surveys.

The focus groups included representatives from the National Drug Councils, or their equivalents, law enforcement personnel, youth organisations (in and out of school) and organizations and entities that work with them, faith–based organisations and Special Interest Groups such as researchers, medical practitioners, Non-Government Organizations, practitioners of alternative medicine and advocates for medicinal use of marijuana. During the national consultations, the Commission succeeded in harnessing a wide variety of perspectives. These included personal testimonies from persons who have used marijuana, (either home or abroad), often persons who had been arrested for small amounts of the substance, as well as those who argued for the legal permission to do so for medical and other reasons.

Focus group discussions moderated by Commissioners were used to quickly and conveniently gather rich data from a large number of the targeted stakeholders (youth, special interests – religious, medical, and criminal justice personnel, inter alia) about their general opinions on decriminalisation in a short period of time. Approximately 3 focus group discussions were held in each country for which national consultations occurred for a total of 27 focus groups, each comprised of various, representative stakeholders. The informal structure of the focus group discussions allowed participants to speak freely about their views on the present policy and potential policy change. Only Commissioners and a rapporteur were allowed in the focus groups. The intimate nature of the groups meant that, especially for the youth, they felt less fearful of expressing opinions and experiences that may have challenged the status quo. National governments were issued instructions for the composition of focus groups and were responsible for coordinating the location and participants. The impracticality of individual interviews also made focus groups a good option for gathering data. As typical for focus group discussions the level of dynamism in the discussions saw the sessions sometimes exceeding the scheduled duration. Focus groups have the benefit of high face validity, that is, they accurately reflect the understanding of participants.

The Commission also invited and received submissions and written information from the public, researchers and other interested persons. A petition seeking to legalise cannabis with over 9,500 signatures from Trinidad and Tobago was also received. These were received via hard copy or electronically through a webpage link on the CARICOM Commission webpage and emails. Desk Research was also undertaken to examine the relevant legislation, case law, related studies, some of which were provided by Member States, and other published materials. A survey instrument to collect information from adolescents and youth was also adapted and was transmitted to the Directors of National Drug Councils regionally, requesting their assistance in conducting the surveys. Secondary data from nationally representative national secondary school surveys conducted in Member States in 2013 were also used to explore use patterns among adolescents. In addition, two researchers were hired to provide additional input to the Commission, an economist and a marketing specialist.

A special website was set up for the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana to permit interaction with the Commission and otherwise inform Caribbean peoples of its ongoing work: marijuana @caricom.org.

Thematic analyses were performed of data recorded from focus groups, other sources and national meetings and are used to inform the Report. Although CARICOM countries are not homogenous, several patterns emerged from the data. Some were initially deduced from desk reviews of grey and published literature and some emerged out of the specific country circumstances.

A challenge arises with the reliability of focus groups, town hall meetings and social media surveys, that is, whether the same results would be obtained under the same circumstances if repeated at a different time.

All three methods lack specificity to national populations. Further, given the illegal status of marijuana, it xiii