Pubdate: Fri, 03 Aug 2012 Source: Reporter, The (Belize) Copyright: 2012 The Reporter Belize Contact: http://www.reporter.bz/contact-us/ Website: http://www.reporter.bz/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4991 DECRIMINALIZATION: ARE WE PREPARED? With the passing of July, the window of opportunity for members of the public to give their opinion on decriminalization to the Special Committee on the decriminalization of marijuana passes with it. The Committee will now sort out all the information it has, and make a recommendation on whether or not G.O.B. should proceed to decriminalize marijuana. Meanwhile the public continues to make its voice heard through the other outlets available. One thing remains clear, the public is still having trouble differentiating between decriminalization and legalization. The current state of affairs begs the question "Is Belize prepared for the decriminalization of marijuana?" The National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC) feels that not only is Belize unprepared to decriminalize marijuana, but that it is so unprepared, decriminalization should not even be considered at this time. While widely known for its anti-drug advocacy campaigns, and their school-to-school approach with drug education, not many people truly understand just what function NDACC really plays in Belizean society. As seen in the Misuse of Drugs Act Chapter 103, section 2 page 15 of the Laws of Belize Revised Edition 2000, NDACC was created to, among other things, "keep under review the situation in Belize with respect to drugs which are being or appear to them likely to be misused and of which the misuse is having or appears to them capable of having harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem." The Act also mandates the Council to advise government on the Council's opinion which course of action ought to be taken in matters concerning the restricting of the availability of such drugs or supervising the arrangements for their supply. The Council is also required to enable persons affected by the misuse of such drugs to obtain proper advice, and for securing the provision of proper facilities and services for the treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare of such persons; for promoting co-operation between the various professional and community services which in the opinion of the Council have a part to play in the dealing with social problems connected with the misuse of such drugs. NDACC then is a policy making and regulatory body, as well as the advisory body to the government on matters pertaining to drugs and matters connected there with. With the mandate given by law to NDACC, it has authority to speak on matters such as decriminalization, and while the committee is out deliberating on a verdict, The Reporter spoke to the Director of NDACC, Mr. Esner Vellos. Vellos told The Reporter that while the special committee had not initially collaborated with the Council on the matter, the Council did submit its position via email to the committee during the public consultations period. The contents of the document could not be shown without express permission from the Ministry of Health. However, Vellos did explain the Council's position on the decriminalization of marijuana and why he believes that "Belize is unprepared for the decriminalization of marijuana." Vellos explained that before arguments can be heard for decriminalization, the proper policies as well as the facilities and physical resources need to be implemented. He went on to say that while arguments arise from all of the functions of NDACC (drug prevention, rehabilitation and treatment, research and information, legal reform and public education) a major area of concern is rehabilitation and treatment. In the eventuality that decriminalization of marijuana results in an escalation of both supply and demand, there currently exists no policy on how G.O.B. will regulate and control it. The obvious outcome of such escalation is that cases of addiction will rise. The country currently has only three government affiliated rehabilitation centers, one in the Belize district, one in Cayo, and the other in Corozal. There are also only six outreach officers country wide, leaving one single person to do referrals to the rehab centers and follow-ups for that entire district. This number seems terribly inadequate as is, and would prove futile in the face of mass escalation of addiction cases. NDACC's annual report for 2011 from the Rehabilitation and Treatment Unit shows that 99 marijuana addiction cases were handled in 2011 alone. While the former Minister of Police Doug Singh had said that there is not enough conclusive data to arrive at the conclusion that decriminalization would cause an escalation, there is also no evidence to support that it won't, and it would seem the Council is taking a hope-for-the-best-but-prepare-for-the-worst approach. NDACC is planning to have entities branching out of it such as the National Research Center for Drug Education, and a National Rehabilitation Center which will be regulated by NDACC. With those facilities established, research could be done in Belize and conclusive data could be compiled for Belize, enabling policies to be made which cater to the specific needs of the country. Universal standards of care would be established for the rehab centers, in terms of staff qualification and training, quality of rehab facilities, quality of the services provided and accessibility to the public at large. These standards would also govern whatever other rehab facilities would open its doors in the future. The Drug Council's position is that without these facilities in place, the country cannot even begin to look at the health or any of the other issues that will stem from decriminalization. NDACC has accepted that the intention to decriminalize is noble and is an attempt to relieve the pressure on the prison and provide alternative methods to prison sentences when dealing with drug offenders. However, the council feels that there are alternatives to decriminalization. Last week, the Drug Council assembled a committee to do a situational analysis and work with the judiciary for the inception of a Drug Court at the Magistrates level. The rationale is that once someone commits an offence that falls within certain parameters as it pertains to marijuana and other drugs, that offender would be sent to a court specifically to deal with the drug offense and be able to determine what type of rehabilitation and sanction would be necessary. The result would free up the other magistrate courts of the overflow of drug offences that seem to be clogging up the justice system. A similar school of thought for firearm offences led to the inception of Magistrates Court No.8, which deals primarily with firearm cases. Belize's weaknesses in terms of dealing with potential effects of decriminalization are displayed in the U.S. State Departments' 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). Belize received less than favorable comments in the sections of drug supply reduction and corruption. In supply reduction it was said that the Belize Police Department's Anti-Drug Unit (ADU) "was often unable to promptly respond to unauthorized air traffic in remote parts of the country. Belize in turn used ADU to counter the spiralling violence in Belize City whose elevated murder rate contributed to the 5.8 percent increase nation-wide." Another fact pointed out how much of a problem marijuana currently is in Belize, citing that "Belizean authorities seized and eradicated 72 metric tons (MT) of cannabis" which is higher than all other drug confiscations combined. The corruption section is of particular interest in the decriminalization issue as it brings to the forefront that while policies are essential to the nation surviving whatever negative effects may come from decriminalization of marijuana, local and international confidence in the policy makers is nothing to be enthused about. The report stated: "Combined with a lack of resources and weak law enforcement institutions, Belize's ineffective judicial system and inadequate compensation for civil service employees and public safety officials allowed illegal activities to continue at various levels within the government. "Belize lacked laws that specifically address narcotics-related corruption." While the Special Committee appointed by the Prime Minister has been charged with the task of making recommendations to G.O.B., the legal advisory body on matters such as decriminalization of any substance is still the NDACC. It is arguable that when the PM appointed the committee he sidestepped the role of a body already legally mandated to advise the government on the matter. A rival opinion to that notion is that by appointing the committee, the PM diversified the country's options, realizing that the Council would take an all negative view and made an effort to find, if any, a positive outcome to decriminalization. The notion to decriminalize was first coined by the Ministry of Police. The former Minister of Police now heads the committee, and what can be gathered from this, coupled with the optimistic approach the committee chair speaks with on the issue, is that if there is a positive outcome, the committee will find and present it. In the eventuality that the committee advises G.O.B. to decriminalize marijuana, the government will either have to choose between one of the conflicting views, or seek to discover some form of hybrid. Whichever opinion obtains victory, the question of Belize's preparedness is an issue to be answered. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt