Magistrate warns cannabis still illegal

Magistrate Jared Richards warned that cannabis remains illegal in Barbados as he placed 25-year-old Kemar Aykeem Bruce on a three-month bond to keep the peace for drug offences.

Bruce pleaded guilty to possessing 19.06 grammes of cannabis, possessing a traffickable quantity of the drug and intending to supply it on October 18.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $95.30.

Police on foot patrol along Savvy on the Bay in Bay Street saw Bruce selling what appeared to be wrappers and a soda-flavoured drum. They searched him and found multiple transparent resealable bags containing vegetable matter, later found to be cannabis, in a vanilla nutritional shake bottle.

Bruce was arrested.

He apologised to the court, saying he did not know he could get into trouble for having a “lil” weed.

Placing him on the bond for the offence of intending to supply, Magistrate Richards said: “You must understand that marijuana is still illegal, but the law reflects that if you have 14 grammes or less, you will get a ticket and pay a fine rather than be brought to court. So put it in your mind that it is still illegal even though I find some persons are believing now that it isn’t, but it is and that is how you ended up here.”

If Bruce breaches the bond, he must pay an immediate fine of $250 or serve two months in prison. He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the possession and trafficking charges.

(JB)