Alcohol, drugs and gambling

EDITOR, The Tribune.

We’ve got burglars robbing the Lord’s House pull money out of thin air to resurface and touch up roads that the Caricom delegates would travel.

We forget the daily cries and pleas of the Joe-blow citizens for potholes to be fixed and roads resurfaced in areas that are travelled every day, every week, every month by Bahamians. We throw caution to the wind and spend what we don’t have to entertain and impress by hosting a meeting that was scheduled for Suriname. We give the false impression that we have it all together when so many of our people are hurting and in need. Bahamian people… not PLPs, FNMs, DNAs, COIs, Bahamians.

Let the region see that we have potholes and uneven surfaces. Let them see that we have people living on the streets. Let them see that we have food banks and charities feeding the hungry and less fortunate. Let them see that while we may be a little better off, we are not as rich as we pretend to be. Let them see that we too, need a little help.

Yesterday was indeed a wake-up call for us and I do hope that some serious thought and consideration is given by this administration for the way people are treated in a Democratic Society while trying to have their voices heard.

This land is your land, this land is my land… this is our Bahamaland. May freedom always reign and may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

VANESSA A SCOTT, JP Nassau, February 16, 2023

IN JESUS put all your trust, all your belief, and all your heart. Not in alcohol, drugs and gambling, or any destructive vice. Just because God has given man the fruit of the earth for sustenance, this doesn’t mean God is the Creator of the alcoholic beverages and pain killers man makes from it. God created the grapes, but not the fermented wine. God created the marijuana plant, but not the joint used for smoking or the medicinal medication. Through the perversion of the gift, God gave man, the devil corrupted his nature.

All human suffering and woes grow on one tree, but this tree has several different branches:

1. Physical or natural calamities beyond the control of man, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes or fires;

2. Conscious or ignorant violation of natural law;

3. The result of wrong moral decisions bringing blight and sorrow;

4. Selfishness – which is at the root of the trouble we bring on ourselves and our fellowman.

The tree which supports all these branches is called “SIN.” Our ancestors, including past and present politicians, have walked a long treacherous journey for freedom, liberty and equality for all. They marched against the vices which include alcohol, drugs, gambling and marijuana to name a few. Only to have some of the same politicians, lawyers, religious leaders, and former Governors General re-enslave our people by talking about legalizing these vices. This is the reason why dishonesty and corruption proliferates in our country; and the reason why 90% of our politicians don’t comprehend how the world works. There was a documentary on “the legalisation of marijuana,” watched in one of the US States. During the documentary, a reporter asked a US official about the negative effect marijuana had on its users, and the officials’ reply was “the profit is worth the risk”.

In essence, all who are in agreement with the legalisation of marijuana is saying just that - that the profit is worth the risk.

When I look around from the 1980s to present, I see destruction and grief suffered by many families. There are millions of dollars invested in commercials to induce our people to these vices. We can only pray for a generation ready to take a stand against these destructive vices.

Beware my friend, my name is marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and gambling. We entered this country illegally without a passport, ever since then, we have been hunted and sought by the DEU, Interpol, junkies and pushers and plain clothes officers, mostly by users who need a quick fix.

We are more valued than diamonds, more treasured than gold.

Use us just once and you too will be sold:

We’ll make a school boy and school girl forget their books;

We’ll make a beauty queen neglect her looks;

We’ll take a renowned speaker and make him a bore;

We’ll take mama and papa, and make them stoop lower;

We’ll make a school teacher forget how to teach;

We’ll make a preacher, not want to preach.

All kinds of people have fallen under our wing;

Just look around, and you can see the results of our sting;

We’ve got daughters and sons turning on their parents

We’ve got husbands and wives pimping their spouse. We are the king of vacillation, anarchy and crime, and the prince of destruction.

We’ll cause the organs of your body to malfunction;

We’ll cause your babies to be born hooked

We’ll turn the most honest of men into crooks;

We’ll make you rob, steal and kill

When you’re under our power you have no will.

Remember my friend, our names are marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and gambling.

We’ve destroyed actors, politicians and sports heroes;

We’ve decreased bank accounts from millions to zero;

We’re a bad habit, too tuff for the man

We’re laughing at you now… By the power of your own hands, you are destroying your life.

We’re the secret of the decline of one of the greatest world empires the world has ever known. GOLDEN BABYLON ruled the world from 626 to 539 BC.

Yeah, we’re raising hell in your country and all over the earth

Don’t believe us just check us out you quack (I didn’t say crack)

We’ve made it where, shooting and stabbings are common on the block.

Well, now you know, what will you do?

Remember my friend, it’s all up to you.

If you decide to jump in our saddle you better ride us well.

For on the pale horse of marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and gambling, we’ll ride you straight to HELL!

We live in one of the most sophisticated societies that have ever existed. Why have we subjected ourselves to this level?