Senators began debate on a compendium of bills which will create a legal framework for a Cannabis industry in The Bahamas. The bill also seeks to legalize Cannabis as a medical therapy, the decriminalization of specified amounts and recognition as a religious sacrament.

Attorney General, Sen. Hon. Ryan Pinder spoke about the recognition of Cannabis as the sacrament of the Rastafarian faith. He told Senators, “some denominations partake in their sacrament at the tabernacle in a group. Some denominations in the Rastafarian faith do not, its not used at their tabernacle. It’s used more at home in a personal meditative setting. How we had it originally drafted you had to partake at the tabernacle. We listened to the different denominations and their input and we made the change. And so its either at the tabernacle or in a private abode or accommodation but never in public.”

The Attorney General also spoke to the decriminalization of Cannabis and the institution of fixed penalties instead of jail time. “An officer may serve a person committing an offence with a fixed penalty notice which requires him to pay the fine of $250 before the date specified in the notice. If the offender does pay the fine within the specified time he should not have a record for committing an offence. In other words we are decriminalizing the possession of less the thirty grams of Cannabis and creating a framework where it is punishable by fine alone and not a criminal prosecution.”

Also supporting the bill during the debate with Senator Randy Rolle. He said, “this move, Madam President, will liberate for scores of people, especially our young men, who because of this criminal record was unable to gain gainfully employed, were unable to travel as well as unable to gain access to funding from mainstream financial institutions.”

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