Will Barbados decriminalize weed?

The Caribbean is looking greener than ever. Barbados, a small tropical paradise, presents itself as a small sovereign nation, like Jamaica, within the Commonwealth. This month, local political leaders backed the idea of decriminalizing cannabis.

Education Minister Ronald Jones preempted the issue in his speech to the Teachers’ Introductory Programme (a teacher presentation) at the Erdiston Teacher Training Institute.

«I agree with the decriminalization [of small amounts] of ganja. I don't think we should be clogging up our prisons, really, with people who don't sell, but had a small joint.».

Although he doesn't consider personal use to be punishable by prison, he still can't stand cannabis use.

«I'd like to make this point absolutely clear. I don't believe we have to change ourselves by ingesting external substances. We are made perfectly, excellently created. God made no mistakes.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite had previously stated that he had no strong position on the legalization of cannabis. But he firmly believes that Barbadians should be committed to medical institutes rather than prisons. In fact, he admitted to the idea that he might consider law reform to update the island's legislation.

«We have to look at the public health consequences of every action we take. We can't give in to rumors. We [the Government], and certainly I as Minister, have sent the signal that we'd better stop jailing individuals for small amounts of marijuana. What we'd like to do is turn them over to Drug Treatment Court and see how we can steer them away from substance abuse.»

Barbados is a very small country. Even the opinion of the Minister of Education counts. Less than 300,000 people live on the island, and government is limited. A single police force patrols the streets, and there are 600 military personnel.

This doesn't make Barbados any less attractive to strange investments, such as those from Canada. It's also a popular island for tourists, and the homeland of Rihanna, widely known for its weed consumption.

Will Barbados follow’example of Jamaica ?