Premier Wayne Panton has said government is considering launching a referendum next year to gauge public opinion on introducing a national lottery system in the Cayman Islands and decriminalising small quantities of marijuana.
Panton, appearing on Radio Cayman’s ‘For the Record’ talk show with Orrett Connor on Friday, said the details around the referendum are not “completely formed” nor is anything “cast in stone,” but he said government is considering launching a vote on these and other issues in 2023.
He said when Parliament meets later this month he will speak more about the referendum, but “that is the plan”.
Illegal gambling breeding crime
He said illegal gambling continues to be a problem in Cayman and there have been a number of people who have lost their lives because of criminal activity around gambling.
The premier pointed to the murder of former prison officer Harry Elliott, 62, of George Town, who was gunned down shortly after 8pm on 25 April, during what police say was a robbery gone wrong.
His death was later linked to illegal gambling.
“It was very, very sad to see a man lose his life in those kind of circumstances. But we’ve had so much of this and it is breeding the wrong kind of of activity… [A]nything that is creating a situation where people have cash accumulated is a temptation for criminal activity,” the premier said.
Panton added there have been many reports of people going home at 3am and having somebody meeting them in their driveway wearing a face mask and holding a gun.
“That’s what this kind of thing is about… many of [these crimes] are not reported because… [if] you report it… then the question is ‘Well, what do you do with all that cash?’… We’ve got to try to control this,” he said.
The objective, the premier said, is to make some improvements to the Gambling Act covering those types of activities.
He said there is also a plan to amend the Gambling Act to facilitate cruise vessels being able to operate casinos later in the afternoon within Cayman waters, provided the ships don’t allow people coming from shore to participate.
“[Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan] has been having discussions with the cruise lines around that… [O]bviously we don’t want to do that too soon in the day because you don’t want people staying on board gambling… we want to them to come and visit our wonderful country,” he added.
Decriminalisation, not legalisation
As for a vote on decriminalising small amounts of ganja, Panton stressed it is not government’s intention to legalise marijuana, but rather to reduce the penalties faced by those who are found in possession of small amounts of the drug.
He explained that through the vote government will be looking at a clarified position of decriminalisation separate from legalisation.
The consequences of possessing a small amount “for your personal use”, he said, will not be a police record that affects “your abilities down the road to get employment”.
Panton said there are other issues that are being considered to be added to the referendum next year; however, he did not go into further details.
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Can we add pepper spray to this list of questions for the public? At least that would be pro-social.
(And decriminalisation of ganja does not work without legalisation because the import/growing & retail/purchase is still illegal. Its like it being legal to own a car but illegal to sell a car.)
It is a good and democratic idea to take all of these important matters to the public via a proper Referendum. There the pros and cons can be publicly and intelligently discussed and debated, THEN put to a vote similar to what is done during a General Election. A good proposal by Hon. Premier Wayne Panton.
These decisions, for which I assume the Referendum outcome would serve as advisory, should then be taken in full recognition of the Preamble to the Cayman Islands Constitution, in relation to the Christian and Cultural heritage of the Islands.