2.10. Statistical data gathered over the period also confirms this public viewpoint. Surveys done in five CARICOM countries by the well-known Caribbean Development Research Services Inc. (CADRES), reveal considerable shifting in public attitudes toward some form of law reform away from prohibition. 13 In the Barbados survey, it was demonstrated that attitudes had shifted from an earlier 2008 poll in which 73% of the population wished to retain the status quo of prohibition, as compared to just 37% in 2016. 14 This mirrored the results of Eastern Caribbean countries, where the majority was also in favour of law reform, removing criminal sanctions. For example, 57% of Dominicans wanted to see the law changed to remove sanctions.15 In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, support for full legalisation doubled in a threeyear period, from 9% in 2013 to 18% in 2017, although there is a slight dip in support for partial legalisation (35% in 2017 as compared to 36% in 2013). The percentage of those who said it should remain illegal fell from 44% in 2013 to 35% in 2017.16 2.11. In Antigua and Barbuda, a poll conducted in August 2016, showed that 62 of residents supported some form of marijuana decriminalization. Pollster Peter Wickham noted that the result was “not surprising since the global and regional trend is in that direction and Antiguans are clearly “on-board” with this more liberal attitude.”17 It was also noted that the slighter lower figures approving law reform and legalization in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was because this was a growing country and there was a concern that legalization would drive the price of cannabis/ marijuana down. In Saint Lucia, in a poll conducted in September 2017, there was also a majority in favour of law reform, 51% as opposed to 38 % that wished to keep cannabis illegal.18 The most recent survey, done in Grenada in January 2018 shows that 61 % of the population want to remove prohibition, with only 22 % wanting to retain the status quo (others were not sure). Given that the Commission did not visit Grenada, this is important information.19 2.12. Recent surveys done in Jamaica, which decriminalized cannabis in 2015, are instructive, given that the population has now had the opportunity to self-assess the impact of law reform. The results, which assessed persons between 12 – 65 years, reveal that exceedingly high majorities of Jamaicans now approve of cannabis/ marijuana use, for all purposes. For example, 70% of persons agreed with being allowed to have limited amounts of cannabis for personal use and only 22.6% disagreed. 88.4% agreed with its use for medical and therapeutic purposes; 63.8% for religious purposes and 92.2% agreed that cultivation for scientific purposes should be allowed. Interestingly, despite Jamaica’s amended law providing only for restricted use by tourists, approximately 75% of Jamaicans believed that tourists should be allowed to use ganja.20 2.1.3. It is evident that the public attitudes and emerging medical research run counter to existing drug policies (Griffith & Cohall, 2017). Without question, there is a clear groundswell of public opinion in favour of legal reform to the existing laws on cannabis/ marijuana and the removal of prohibition. This factor can no longer be ignored by CARICOM Member States. CARICOM states have a unique opportunity to shape the direction that this reform will take in an informed, balanced way. 2.14. Notwithstanding, while the Commission considers that this overwhelming public support for law reform is a necessary pre-condition for changing the existing prohibitionist laws, it did not consider it to
The surveys were designed to gauge public opinion with a +/-5% margin of error with the main question seeking to determine their views on the decriminalisation of marijuana (CADRES, 2017). For the purpose of simplifying the analysis the survey did not make a distinction between decriminalisation for medical or religious use. As such the responses were structured as below: I think it should be made completely legal (full decriminalization) I think that it should be made legal only for medical or religious purposes I think it should remain illegal (in all respects) I am not sure/prefer not to say what I think. 14 ‘Barbadians more open to decriminalization of marijuana’ May 20, 2016; http://www.caribbean360.com/news/barbadians-open-decriminalizationmarijuana . http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/98523/-yes-ganja. ‘Yes to ganja’ Nation News, June 9, 2016, 15 ‘Puff on a Spliff ‘, SunDominica, September 3, 2017, http://sundominica.com/articles/puff-on-a-spliff-4459/ 16 Ibid. 17 https://antiguanewsroom.com/news/featured/poll-shows-majority-support-for-marijuana / ‘Polls Show majority Support for marijuana ’, Antigua Newsroom, May 17, 2017. 18 Information from pollster, Peter Wickham, CADRES, Public Opinion on Marijuana Decriminalisation in St Lucia, Poll conducted September 2017, published October, 2017. 19 Caribbean Development Research Services Inc (CADRES), January 2018. 20 CARICOM National Drug Use Prevalence Survey 2016. 13
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