By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Cannabis Bill and associated reforms do not open up “carte blanche” marijuana use, a senior pastor asserted yesterday, provided the legislation is properly enforced and regulated.

Bishop Simeon Hall, co-chair of the Government-appointed commission that examined legalising medical marijuana, told Tribune Business he “didn’t expect any less” after the Bahamas Christian Council mounted a last-ditch intervention to persuade MPs not to approve the legislative package passed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday night.

A former Christian Council president himself, he described it as having “a rather conservative approach to social issues”, and said its members were wrongly “afraid” that it creates “an open door” to increased recreational use of marijuana and the presence of more drugs on Bahamian streets.

Emphasising that he was personally against legalising marijuana use for recreational purposes, Bishop Hall told this newspaper that the Cannabis Bill and other accompanying legislative changes only permit its consumption for medicinal or religious purposes (Rastafarians). He added that the legal reforms forbid recreational use.

However, he conceded that this regime will only succeed if The Bahamas implements robust regulation and enforcement - an area where this country has often been found wanting. Bishop Hall admitted his “biggest concern” remains whether the new laws and accompanying regulations will be sufficiently applied to prove the Christian Council’s fears wrong.

Arguing that alcohol abuse was “more destructive” than marijuana use, he said the Bahamian clergy were often too timid to confront and discuss social issues, adding: “We keep our heads in the sky, in heaven, while these things are passing in front of our faces.”

Voicing relief that the House of Assembly had finally moved the legislation forward, Bishop Hall said he would defer to the Government over whether all medical marijuana-related ventures should be mandated to have majority Bahamian ownership as opposed to the percentages stipulated in the reforms.

While the cultivation, sale, distribution and transport of medical marijuana is being reserved exclusively for 100 percent Bahamian ownership, joint ventures where foreign investors can own up to 70 percent are being permitted in areas such as technical analysis, research and development and manufacturing and packaging.

The Free National Movement (FNM) earlier this week argued that all medical marijuana entities should be majority Bahamian-owned, but Bishop Hall declined to join them. “I support the Government on this issue,” he said. “I leave the logistics of the economics to the Government in their wisdom.”

The controversy over the Cannabis Bill, though, did not end there with the Christian Council making a last-minute effort to dissuade MPs from approving the legislation which was passed on Wednesday evening to now proceed to the Senate.

Bishop Delton Fernander, the Christian Council’s president, said in a statement that successive administrations have failed to justify or provide data showing how medicinal marijuana would benefit The Bahamas socially and economically.

“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,” he argued.

“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.....

“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.”

Bishop Hall, with the benefit of his position on the marijuana commission, broke ranks with the Council by saying of its reaction: “I didn’t expect any less. They are afraid. I still support the Christian Council but they are afraid of that being an open door for other things.”

He argued that the Council’s position failed to account for how prevalent marijuana is in Bahamian society already and its widespread use on the streets. Bishop Hall said that, given the drug is already widely accessible for recreational use, legalising and regulating it for medicinal and religious purposes will not lead to greater quantities of marijuana in local communities.

“The mistake in that is I personally know of 15 places where you can get drugs,” he explained in response to the Christian Council’s position. “I have never taken marijuana myself personally, but they act as if the legislation will cause marijuana to be more accessible in the country. It’s accessible already. The horse is out.

“I understand all the dynamics of the Christian Council. I was once president of that body, and I understand their rather conservative approach to social issues. But marijuana, you can go in almost every direction and find it.”

Bishop Hall added that the commission he co-chaired, besides calling for marijuana’s legalisation and regulation for medicinal and religious use, also advocated for the eradication of criminal records for Bahamians caught with small amounts of the drug for personal consumption. This is another recommendation which the Government has adopted but is opposed by the Christian Council.

Bishop Hall, though, described the expunging of criminal records for this offence as “the Christian thing to do” as this was preventing many young Bahamian men from getting jobs. “The person with a small bag should not be made a criminal,” he added, although he had no reservations about tougher punishments for those caught dealing and trafficking.

“People are acting as though legalising it is making more marijuana on our streets,” “Bishop Hall reiterated. “Marijuana is on our streets now. A lot of people are failing to recognise it’s on almost every street corner in The Bahamas now.

“I do not support marijuana for recreational use. The committee only said for medicinal and religious use, not recreational. That is being overlooked. It has medical value. Your doctor must prescribe the use of marijuana. Not everybody can do it. It’s not carte blanche for people to pick up marijuana. The doctor has to prescribe it like they prescribe medicine now.”

Bishop Hall urged the Government to drive this message home to the Bahamian people via an education campaign on what the new laws, and regulations, will permit on medical marijuana. “Let’s take an intelligent approach, let’s do it,” he added. “Alcoholism causes more problems than marijuana. That doesn’t mean we are promoting marijuana. What we’re saying is alcohol abuse is more destructive that marijuana. That’s our opinion.

“I think we should sit down like the trained clergymen we are, and look at social issues. We don’t like to talk on these social issues. We keep our heads in the sky, in heaven, while these things are passing in front of our faces.

“I understand there are several hundred Bahamians under the doctor’s prescription and using marijuana for medical use. That gives credence for what we’re trying to do for medicinal, not recreational, use. There are hundreds of Bahamians using this to get an answer. That’s what we’re saying.”

However, Bishop Hall admitted that effective, robust regulation and enforcement will be key to achieving the vision set out by the Government and commission. “What I am concerned about is that, one, we are poor as a country on regulating things properly,” he told this newspaper. “If we regularise, we don’t enforce the laws. That is my biggest concern. We don’t have a good track record of regulating and enforcing the law.”