The country has to be grateful to the Chief Justice Ivor Archie for putting on the table for discussion, the question of the decriminalising of marijuana. May I respectfully suggest that his proposal does not go far enough, and may well turn out to be a monumental waste of time and effort. Already, we are seeing the "pundits" coming out of the woodwork talking all sorts of nonsense and not addressing the problem.It is well known and documented that the so-called war on drugs has been and continues to be a worldwide failure. Trillions of dollars have been spent by all countries, including ours, in addressing this scourge. Not to mention the human disaster it has created.
Seventy per cent of our crime is drug related. The jails are full of murderers, drug addicts, drug dealers, thieves–all prisoners of this iniquitous trade. The cost to the country: money-laundering, corruption, damage to business and the economy is incalculable. And yet we are pussyfooting around talking about decriminalising marihuana.The solution has to be in legalising all drugs. Time and space do not permit for me to carry on this most important subject. I would simply ask that all in authority, including the Chief Justice, take a look at the Portugal experience, who in fact legalised all drugs some six years ago, and see the tremendous positive effect it has had on that country.
F Mouttet,
via e-mail