Legislators are expected to debate this week whether referendums should be held on introducing a national lottery and decriminalising possession of small amounts of ganja in the Cayman Islands.
The two issues will be the subject of a government motion which is expected to be tabled by Premier Wayne Panton as matters of national importance when Parliament resumes on Wednesday, 7 Dec.
Panton on previous occasions has stressed the need to stamp out illegal gambling as it has been linked to a number of crimes, including murder.
The killing of former prison officer Harry Elliott, 62, who was gunned down on 25 April, was linked to illegal gambling.
Transport and Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has been advocating for the question of a government-run lottery to be put to the community to decide.
Gambling is illegal in the Cayman Islands.
Bryan, speaking with the Cayman Compass Thursday in a telephone interview, said he believes in “direct participation of the people” and these two topics have been points of contention “for decades”.
“I think it is appropriate that people have an opportunity to have their say to support or not support, so we have a clear indication moving forward,” he said.
Bryan also said he hopes the population will reach out to their Members of Parliament to “express their viewpoint on these matters as we will be debating it in the Parliament”.
The issue of decriminalising the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use and consumption has been long discussed in Cayman.
A number of Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and US Virigin Islands, have already either approved or enacted legislation to decriminalise the use of small amounts of marijuana.
The use of medical marijuana was legalised in Cayman in 2017.
Earlier this year, Deputy Premier Chris Saunders, who is also minister for labour, said decriminalising ganja consumption would help ensure young people who are prosecuted for using the drug aren’t hindered from benefiting from employment and educational opportunities. He spoke about the issue on the Cayman Compass Facebook talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ on 28 July.
If MPs pass the motion this week, a bill will be drafted containing questions and a proposed date which will then be tabled in Parliament for debate before a referendum is triggered.
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I never could understand why, when someone is hurt/killed doing something illegal, government’s response is to legalize that activity, so that no further people are hurt.
If the government has decided that certain activities, such as gambling/lotteries are not good for society, why does it then want to legalize these activities because perpetrators are injured?
Legalizing a lottery will not stop this. Soon you will have counterfeit lottery tickets and gangs fighting over distribution.
Obviously, the government sees this as another way to increase income. Unfortunately, studies have shown that it’s usually the poorer people who stand the most to lose because they are more prone to gamble away money that should be used for necessities.