NASSAU, The Bahamas--Pastor Cedric Moss lambasted the Bahamas National Commission on Marijuana’s draft report on marijuana, charging that young Bahamians are being “set up for a lifetime of drug addiction.”
“It is sad to me when I hear people advocating for this, and they don’t want it for their children,” Moss said in a recent interview.
“They don’t want their children to smoke dope. They don’t expect relatives to smoke dope, but they want to just make this legal or available to certain people in quantities.
“I think that is sad. I believe that if this report is accepted and implemented by the government, it will be a sad day in the Bahamas.”
He added, “Why would we say that we want to protect our young people, and we are setting them up for a lifetime of possible drug addiction and, in some cases, cannabis-induced psychosis?”
The draft report was viewed by The Nassau Guardian last week.
It recommends the legalisation of medicinal marijuana and the decriminalisation of possession of up to one ounce of the substance.
It adds that recreational marijuana should be permitted for adults over 21 years of age and medicinal marijuana should be permitted for adults over 18.
The 98-page report is still under review by the commission and it is unclear when the document will be finalised.
When contacted by The Nassau Guardian on Thursday for response, Commission Co-Chairs Quinn McCartney and Bishop Simeon Hall said the version leaked to the public was a draft report and a final consensus had not been made as yet.
Hall added that in light of this, the commission was obliged not to comment on the matter or on Moss’ comments.
Ludicrous
Moss said the government needed to scrap the commission and its efforts altogether.
“Listen, if they believe that what they’re doing is going to increase national exam results, they should do it.
“If they could get psychiatrists at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, who deal with young people with cannabis-induced psychosis to agree with them, they should do it, but they won’t.”
He added that if the commission’s recommendations are accepted by the government, it will create a “society of stoned young people and people who are not thinking clearly, and many who have had their cognitive abilities impaired.”
“We don’t need to legalise marijuana to have people just walking around with it up to some degree,” Moss said.
“I do believe that there are some medicines that have been derived from the marijuana plant that are not easily accessible or even legally available in the country without a special licence.
“So, I think what they [the commission – Ed.] need to do is consider those things, but to try to say that you are letting people smoke dope as medicine, to me is ludicrous.
“In my opinion, this commission was set up to justify the outcome that I believe the government wanted, and I think the commission was just a front for that.
“I don’t think the commission has really done legitimate work.
“I would like to have seen at least someone on the commission who would’ve taken an alternative view, but it seems like this is going to be a unanimous report from the commission.” ~ The Nassau Guardian ~
