The method being proposed by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to control cannabis use in this country will “have little or no impact on the economy”.
This according to an Economic Study by the Caricom appointed marijuana commission in its report “Waiting to Exhale—Safeguarding our future through responsible socio-legal policy on marijuana.
“Decriminalisation only, is shown to have little or no impact on the economy, since it has very little positive impact on the black market or illicit economy, or the negative costs of enforcement associated with an enduring prohibitive system, albeit somewhat relaxed,” the report stated.
“More importantly, decriminalisation presents little opportunity for states to accumulate revenue from cannabis/marijuana through sales, taxes and other benefits due to competitive market and security associated costs. Given that cannabis is still unlawful, law enforcement costs remain high,” it stated.
On Friday Al-Rawi introduced the Cannabis Control Bill, 2019 and the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the House of Representatives proposing the decriminalisation of certain quantities of cannabis and cannabis resin.
“Under the tiered possession scheme the bill proposes the abolition of the present regime whereby possession of any amount is an arrestable offence. This tiered possession scheme will establish lawful limits for possession and use. Hence under the new scheme, a person found in possession of 30 grammes of cannabis or less will no longer be arrested for possession. That being said, the Government also proposes to impose an upper limit for lawful possession of cannabis or cannabis resin products. That limit will be 60 grammes,” Al-Rawi said.
“This bill proposes that possession of more than 30 grammes, but not more than 60 grammes of cannabis, or more than five grammes but not more than 10 grammes of cannabis resin, is to now be treated by a fixed penalty ticket system with the brunt of the law being applied only where there is a refusal to pay the fixed penalty and only after the possibility of community service as an alternative remedy is explored,” he said.
This type of method, however, would not help the country experience the economic potential of cannabis, the Caricom appointed committee stated.
“There are great expectations that the removal of prohibition from the legal regime can liberate important economic potential for cannabis/marijuana to the region, given its natural home here. The marijuana industry is considered to be a multi-billion-dollar one that if legitimised, could generate huge profits from tax revenues for nations, which could fund sensitisation and prevention initiatives,” the report stated.
“The economic dimensions of any change to the current prohibitionist approach to marijuana is a complex one. Regulatory economic policy will require a multi-faceted, all embracing approach. The question of economic benefit must also take into account the current negative economic costs resulting from prohibition. These include the high enforcement costs, depleting resources necessary for more serious crime and the lack of income or revenue for member states and citizens within an illicit market,” the report stated.
The country would benefit more if the “full legalisation of marijuana” is allowed with state control.
“While the commissioned economics study for this report illustrates that the black market for cannabis perhaps cannot be eliminated entirely, it is apparent that the more the illegal labels are removed from the law, the less room is left for the continuation of black markets and their unwelcome spin-offs of criminal behaviour,” the report stated.
Al-Rawi said the government would not be considering fully legalising marijuana now as that would cripple the economic potential for the small man.
“If you want full legalisation now you are crippling the economic potential of people that have a chance to actually, in a regulated environment, make some progress,” Al-Rawi said.
Al-Rawi said the decriminalisation of marijuana will have a positive effect on the delays in the country’s courts while also hitting gangs where it hurts; their pockets.
Between 2007 to 2018, 84,668 cases went before a magistrate for marijuana-related offences, Al-Rawi said.
Some 71,964 of those cases were for possession of marijuana alone.
In the 2017/2018 law term 2017/2018 the Judiciary reported that 9,553 marijuana-related cases came before the Magistrate’s court with 8,316 being for possession of marijuana alone.
Douglas Gordon, the chairman of Zimmer & Co which is responsible for the CanEx business conference and expo, said if handled properly cannabis could help T&T.
“When you look at the possible economic benefits of marijuana to a country a lot of times people talk first and foremeost about the taxation regime and what that can generate,” Gordon said.
“Personally that is not anywhere close to where I see the greatest benefit coming from,” he said.
Gordon said in 2017 Colorado, which has a population of 5.6 million, was able to generate US$150 million in tax revenue from the cannabis industry.
“But the economic impact to Colorado was US$2.5 billion the same year because they provided 16,000 jobs, they had all these businesses that started and so all these employees and all these businesses being able to buy services from other businesses, place newspaper ads, people were able to rent more cars, go to restaurants etc that is where the real sweet spot comes from the industry being properly incubated,” Gordon said.
“The economic activity of the citizenry and their increase in disposable income is really where the tangible benefits are in the economic perspective,” he said.
Gordon said the legal cannabis industry can create 10 jobs for each acre put in use.
“There are benefits to be had with a properly constructed and managed legal cannabis industry, not to mention the foreign direct investment which is substantial,” Gordon said.
Gordon, however, applauded the T&T government for taking a step forward.
“I am a firm believer that a start is a good start. I definitely commend the fact that there has been forward progress. What is a little bit concerning is some of the aspects of it makes you kind of wonder who are they consulting with because I see on the decriminalisation side it is just unnecessarily complicated,” Gordon said.
“It is a first step it is in the right direction and now what is important is that you ensure that you have the right people involved to have a real strong interest in seeing T&T thrive while ensuring that you are not reinventing the wheel,” he said
“Thousands of man-hours have been invested in the industry in domiciles like Jamaica, St Vincent, Colorado, Canada and I feel like from reading from some of the playbooks and adjusting it for some of the peculiarities of T&T is a more efficient mechanism to get a better governance solution in place,” Gordon said.
The CanEx Investment Summit will be held in Toronto, Canada today at the Fairmont Royal York hotel.
Audley Shaw the Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries in Jamaica and Saboto S Caesar the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Industry & Labour in St Vincent and the Grenadines are carded to speak at the event.
“This is a unique opportunity to hear first-hand about developments in the cannabis industry in the Caribbean and a discussion regarding trade between Canada and the region and investment opportunities presented in this dynamic region,” Gordon stated.
The CanEx Cannabis Investment Summits bring together investors, bankers, lawyers, policymakers and healthcare professionals to offer unique insights into the legal cannabis industry and specifically to speak to investment opportunities. The events feature a range of subject matter oriented toward exposing investors to considering investments directly into businesses, equities or into funds that specialise in the industry.