The head of Cayman’s legal association has appealed for people to send submissions to a survey on the decriminalisation of ganja.
Barrister Richard Barton, the president of the Cayman Islands Legal Practitioners’ Association, said, “Everyone with a perspective to offer, whether professional or personal, is encouraged to engage productively with the consultation process before submissions close on 1 September.”
The call came after the Law Reform Commission issued a discussion paper, titled “Cannabis Reform: Options for a Harm Minimisation Framework”, with a view to gathering opinions on the consultation questions highlighted.
The document looked at whether the importation, production, distribution and sale of cannabis should remain illegal.
The review was sparked by a referendum on cannabis decriminalisation, held with two other questions, alongside the general election held in April last year, which came down heavily on the side of decriminalisation.
Barton said, “The referendum has now made it possible to move forward and it is better to know where we are going and unite on the way, rather than to be divided about our journey.”
The three-question referendum asked voters to decide if Cayman should develop cruise ship piers, if there should be a national lottery and if the “consumption and possession of small amounts of cannabis” should be decriminalised.
The poll showed 60.4% of those who voted either yes or no in the referendum – as opposed to those not voting on the issue at all on their ballot – backed less restrictive cannabis laws with 39.6 against.
Barton added, “Law reform of this kind benefits enormously from careful research, rigorous interrogation and scrutiny.
“The commission’s paper provides a thorough and balanced foundation for the public dialogue that now must follow.”
Home cannabis cultivation
The document examines whether the home cultivation of cannabis for personal use should be decriminalised and if consumption and possession of cannabis should be decriminalised for minors.
Other changes looked at included whether penalties for possession and consumption of the drug should be replaced with administrative penalties, such as fines which do not result in a criminal conviction.
The authors of the report also looked at whether decriminalisation of cannabis should be limited to dried plant material and what limits on amounts that could be possessed might be imposed.
The document also examined the possibility that historic minor convictions for cannabis could be wiped clean.
Orrie Merren, a barrister and a campaigner for legal amendments to loosen the drugs regime, similar to changes made in Jamaica and Bermuda, said in 2024 that decriminalisation of small amounts of cannabis would be appropriate, but that legalisation was “not a viable option”.
Merren, with consultant psychiatrist Dr. Marc Lockhart, co-authored a public consultation document which discussed the referendum question on the drug in the run-up to the vote.
He said on Wednesday that he and Lockhart were preparing a response to the commission’s discussion paper and it would be inappropriate to comment further at present.
The National Drug Council said it had also been asked to contribute to the discussion and declined to comment further.
The full consultation paper can be read at https://publicconsultation.gov.ky/, or at www.gov.ky. Copies can also be picked up at the Law Reform Commission offices in the Government Administration Building.
Submissions should be sent to the commission no later than 1 Sept., addressed to the Director of the Law Reform Commission.
Public views can also be submitted to [email protected].
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