Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 2009
Source: Caymanian Compass (Cayman Islands)
Copyright: 2009 Cayman Free Press Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.caycompass.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4065
Author: Sheredan Bodden

RETHINK LAWS ON GANJA

I too am an educated young Caymanian with a great and  steady job
(even though I drink occasionally).

I often wonder why there is so much emphasis placed on  the users and
abusers of a drug like marijuana when the  risks of alcohol and
tobacco outweigh that of 'weed'.

I know a lot of young Caymanians both smart and not so  smart, who
have tried it in their 'experimental phase'  and got into trouble for
it, whether the first time or  after a few tries.

And because of it they now have been branded as  'criminal' and
finding work is impossible irregardless  of their merits or that is
was a one time mistake.

If our policemen and elected officials would only look  at the domino
effect caused by putting young Caymanians  in jail for this offence a
lot of the violence,  disturbances and idleness could decline
drastically.

I know that there is a vast population of Caymanians,  young and old,
working and unemployed, white and black  that use this drug for
whatever reasons they might have  and still maintain a good if not
high standard of  living and they don't cause trouble or get into fights.

In quite a few countries where there are laws that  govern the use of
marijuana, the police forces there  have seemed to figure out that
pursuing criminal charge  against marijuana users have proved futile
and a waste  of precious resources that could be put to better use.

I think that if an officer of the law can find the time  to drive
around the streets of Cayman looking for  individuals consuming ganja
that simply means the crime  in our islands is nowhere near as bad as
we perceive it  to be. But we all know that's not true. We all know
the  crime rate in Cayman is rising at an astounding level  with new
and creative ways that people are finding to  defraud others.

Why aren't the police concentrating on them, or on the  guy who
imports 50 pounds of ganja verses wasting time  on the guy who has one
'roach'?

Better yet concentrate on the coke, heroin, ecstasy and  PCP
importers....oh I forgot, after spending all the  money on the hundred
or so weed smokers brought in for  processing there is no money left
to actively pursue,  investigate or follow leads in relation to the
big boy  importers or criminals.

It almost seems like a conspiracy....as if all the big  importers and
criminals are wealthy, high placed men  and women who have 'paid'
their debts to our society  and therefore can carry on whatever
schemes best suit  their needs and lines their coffers the easiest and
  quickest?

I do believe this should be looked into but I highly  doubt it ever
will be.

Sheredan Bodden 
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