BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — The executive director of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Dr. James Hosepdales, is urging regional countries to “proceed with an abundance of caution” when it come to the decriminalisation of marijuana.
Hospedales, who spoke on a government radio programme “Working for you”, said there is much discussion on the decriminalisation issue and that there have been several times in history where populations and societies have gone very liberal with substances of abuse.
“The Americans are in the middle of a big opioid crisis and some many decades ago they had a huge problem with addiction and especially among white women,” he said.
“We in the Caribbean have a problem with marijuana and clogging up of the courts and the justice system and that’s understandable to try and reduce that side effect. I think though, in introducing these kinds of public policies, consideration has to be given to the full range of impact.”
Read more at: Jamaica Observer
