NCSA to BCCI: Shelve recreational ganja

The Chamber of Commerce is being urged to put the brakes on its desired exploration of recreational cannabis as a driver of economic recovery.

In response to Barbados TODAY queries, the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has issued a statement calling instead for greater emphasis on the social costs associated with recreational cannabis use, particularly among minors and adolescents, underscoring the need for further discussion on regulation, workplace drug policies and overall public education.

Adamant that the discussions should surpass a “narrow law and order and economic discourse”, the NCSA provided a list of considerations to underpin those discussions.

The call to shelve legalized recreational marijuana has found the support of Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul, who declared he is wary of efforts to divert the country’s scarce resources from the production of food to an area that he suggested has already proven more profitable for non-nationals than citizens.

Late last week, BCCI president Anthony Branker identified discussions on recreational marijuana as particularly important for the country’s recovery from the economic turmoil of COVID-19, the volcanic eruptions at La Soufriére and the passage of Hurricane Elsa.

The basis for such a discussion was strengthened late last year when the United Nations reclassified marijuana in a schedule of less harmful drugs.

But the NCSA contends that a “significant body” of literature still attributes adverse health consequences and the onset of mental disorders to the drug based on “dose, frequency and earliness of use”. The Council points to troubling trends in the consumption of marijuana among young males under age 20 as well as the prevalence of synthetic versions of the drug.

“Discussions on the economic benefits of marijuana should attempt to balance the potential profits from the cultivation and sale of marijuana, with the type of prevention programmes consistent with deterring marijuana consumption, especially among minors and adolescents,” the NCSA suggested in the statement.

“For example, legalizing marijuana may lead to advertising and marketing strategies that unintentionally increase the recreational use of marijuana among children and adolescents.

“In this regard, the NCSA has initiated a series of drug prevention initiatives focusing on the harms of drug use and differences between recreational and medical marijuana targeting primary and secondary school students, parents, Guidance Counsellors, and faith-based organizations.”

Also key in discussions on the legalization of recreational cannabis is a regulatory framework that controls the potency of marijuana products, the NCSA said. This includes regulation of the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in marijuana and a minimum level of Cannabidiol (CBD), which is believed to contain the greatest medicinal value.

The NCSA said it wants more discussions on workplace marijuana policies, workplace drug testing, product labelling, public awareness, research and research around recreational cannabis.

Paul told Barbados TODAY that the BAS is most concerned with the production of food and the impact of the apparent “preoccupation” with marijuana on more pressing agricultural issues.

“We will have to be very careful how that is implemented, ensuring that basically the main focus of food security and food production is not compromised with the seeming preoccupation on the part of some persons with this medicinal marijuana thing,” he declared.

“Now they are talking about recreational use, and you already have a lot of [mentally ill] people walking around the place. Our objective as a nation is to try to achieve certain food security objectives and, already, the traditional agricultural sector is asking for additional resources to help them achieve these food security objectives.

“The concern will be that trying to chase down this whole marijuana initiative means that scarce resources that should be employed to help facilitate greater food production will be devoted to an area where we really have to ask whether or not it’s going to have any positive impact on the health of Barbadians,” Paul added.
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb