Prescod breaks from Govt on drug penalty law

Government backbencher Trevor Prescod broke away from colleagues in the House of Assembly on Friday over changes to cannabis possession laws, slamming a 30-day fine for small amounts of the drug as merely a revenue collection measure.

Also pointing to “judicial madness” in which felony accused were granted bail while others were jailed for stealing “corned beef and ramen”, Prescod said the amendments failed his test for “progressive” legislation and would not stop magistrates and judges from continuing what he considers an imbalance in the criminal justice system.

Prescod declared he strongly believes that no one in possession of 14 grams or less of cannabis should have to pay a fine of $200 – the new maximum penalty fixed under the Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Bill, introduced in the House by the Attorney General.

In an impassioned speech, Prescod told lawmakers that in Caribbean territories like St Lucia, St Vincent, and Jamaica, people are allowed to have as much as 50 grams of marijuana in their possession without having to pay a fine, while in “progressive Barbados, you got a maximum of 14 and then you got to pay a fine”.

He continued: “And if you don’t pay the fine what is going to happen? And if it happens two or three times what is going to happen?  Big people sit down around a table before it even gets to Cabinet or Parliament and all of these people, 29 in here, or 30 in here, the draftsmen, and this is where we are at.

“And at the end of the day, you are going to see the same amount of cases, going before the court, the only difference there is going to be, is that the Government goin’ receive $200 from each man as a result of being in possession of two grams, one, twelve, and eleven, it is a revenue-earning exercise.”

The St Michael East MP said that within hours of Attorney General Dale Marshall outlining the details of the bill during the morning session of Parliament, he has been bombarded with calls from citizens questioning whether the amendments to the legislation were progressive.

“And although you might say this is an inch, it is not good enough,” Prescod declared. “And I said it before about another piece of legislation that came in here. And there are only a few persons who are going to speak the truth. I am not suggesting that anybody is going to tell lies, but there are only a few people that will speak the truth. I, cannot see this as a major step and a fundamental change.

“I represent a constituency with working-class people and I am not stupid, I know that they smoke. Well, I ain’t goin’ tell you that I never smoke. What is the difference between a man who goes into a rum shop and consumes a pint and a half bottle [of alcohol] to a man who smokes? And you don’t lock up a man that drinks all of that, abuse everybody, he mother, he father, he friends, he says something bad about God, nobody lock him up.

“All I am saying is if we are going to demonstrate that this is a progressive Government and we are moving towards certain changes, it is so unfortunate that we come with these minor amendments to a Bill and want to beat ourselves on the chest for doing something very progressive.

“So if we are going to come here today for something as important as this, you think that everybody should be dressed up in a suit, putting on mask and cologne to come in here to just make an adjustment for this here . . . this could be better. There are other aspects in the Drug Act that we could have looked at and make the required adjustments.”

Prescod said that ultimately, the person paying the fine for being caught with the 14 grams of marijuana would have got it from a source.

Saying there were marijuana growers cultivating plants in larger quantities than 14 grams, the backbencher questioned whether Government was cultivating an environment that would allow people to grow the herb.

Prescod also criticised Government for allowing the judiciary to make decisions because the required adjustment by the legislature has not been made, thus still allowing judges to jail people for possession of small quantities of marijuana and other minor convictions.

From court reports in the newspaper, Prescod declared “it is like there is madness in the judiciary” with people being released on bail for committing felonies while people are being sent to jail for stealing corn beef and ramen.
(AH)