8.14. The Commission believes that these inherent defects in the law should be rectified by appropriate reform and these broad inequities addressed.
9. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 9.1. An important issue for the Commission was the effect of cannabis/ marijuana and marijuana policy on children and young persons. The Commission found that despite the current prohibitive regime, the prevalence rate of cannabis/ marijuana use by children and young persons is significant. The general accessibility of marijuana to youth was also acknowledged in all of the Consultations. Young people in the region themselves told us of this prevalence. 9.2. This information is persuasive and concerning evidence that the current legal regime, based on prohibition and criminal sanction, is failing to protect our children and youth from cannabis/ marijuana use. A different approach needs to be taken if CARICOM wishes to change the current pattern. 9.3. The vast majority of participants in the consultative process expressed reservations relating to children and young people in future law reform initiatives. This was by no means unanimous. The Commission also heard from Rastafarian respondents who stressed that marijuana use does not negatively affect their children’s performance in school as their children, who have used cannabis/ marijuana from early ages without harm, are top performers, and are not involved in anti-social behaviours which plague other young people. 9.4. A few children at the focus groups also maintained that they used cannabis/ marijuana to help them in their studies. Additionally, at many of the Consultations the view was expressed that often the youth who display adverse reactions to cannabis may have used a combination of cannabis and alcohol, or marijuana that was mixed with other chemicals. 9.5. The Commission does not doubt these personal testimonies and affords them great respect. Indeed, the mixed substance claim is real and it is also possible that the Rastafarian community is using much milder strains of cannabis. Nonetheless, after reviewing all of the evidence, including the substantial scientific data discussed above, the Commission is unanimous in its view that any lifting of prohibitions for cannabis/ marijuana should not include children and adolescents in its scope. Rather, going forward, the law should specifically outlaw cannabis/ marijuana use and possession by children and youth. Moreover, special, additional safeguards should be included in the law to protect and discourage children from cannabis/ marijuana use, except where that usage is on medically prescribed grounds.
The Commission is unanimous in its view that any lifting of prohibitions for cannabis/ marijuana should not include children and young people in its scope.
9.6. There is also a fear that marijuana legislative changes would amplify cannabis use amongst adults, which may inadvertently increase the exposure of minors to the substance194 and enable their access to the drug195. For example, in the case of Colorado there was a 26 percent increase in youth (ages 12 to 17 years) marijuana use in the three years after medical marijuana was commercialized as compared to the three years prior to commercialization 196. Analyses on the impacts of decriminalization of medical marijuana on youth acceptance and use appear to be divergent as some findings reported a significant increase in marijuana use and acceptance among youth populations following this policy change,197 while others reported no statistically significant differences before and after the legalization of medical marijuana.198
Wang et al (2014) SAM (2015) 196 RMHIDTA (2014) 197 Miech et al (2015) and Miller et al (2017) 198 Lynne-Landsman et al (2013); Choo et al (2014) 194 195
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