By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ELECTED officials passed bills to legalise cannabis for medical and religious use yesterday, hours after the Bahamas Christian Council urged them to suspend the debate because it opposes some elements, including decriminalising possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The Christian Council said during its consultation with government officials, it only supported introducing cannabis for medicinal purposes.

“We stand firmly against the introduction of a cannabis industry, the decriminalisation of small quantities of marijuana and the smoking of marijuana in any form and in any environment,” Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander said in a statement.

 “We have survived and thrived without a cannabis or hemp industry all these years, and we see no evidence or research to support that the introduction of such an industry would add any real economic value to our people or to our country.”

 Bishop Fernander said successive administrations have proposed changing the status quo on cannabis, but failed to provide data showing such an industry would financially and socially benefit the country.

 “We have no knowledge of any advertised town hall meetings or paid promotional advertisements by the government, that clearly demonstrate through proper research, data collection or statistics the impact a cannabis industry would have on the country, its people, our way of life, crime, law and order as well as our international reputation,” he said.

 He said the council believes decimalising small amounts of marijuana will lead to an increase of marijuana use and abuse among young people and evoked the drug era of the 1980s, a “dark period of our country’s history.” 

 “We don’t see any positive return for The Bahamas by entering into the cannabis or hemp industry, but instead we see this as a dangerous and potentially damaging initiative that can lead to an increase in criminal activity and the further destruction of our communities inclusive of our homes, which is the fabric of our society,” he said.

“We also stand opposed to the use of any Crown land to create marijuana fields for the purpose of harvesting and selling cannabis locally, domestically or internationally.” 

 Health Minister Dr Michael Darville responded to the Christian Council, emphasising that the bills’ primary objective is to help people suffering from various diseases.

 He said the government is committed to ensuring that economic opportunities from the bills are fairly distributed and not concentrated in the hands of a few.

 He also noted that many jurisdictions in the region and world have gone further than The Bahamas at decriminalising marijuana. Under the bills, people found with up to one ounce of marijuana will get a fixed penalty of $250.