PM stresses rehabilitation, reform
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

— against imprisonment for possession of small amounts of marijuana

Amid clarion calls for decriminalisation of marijuana, Prime Minister and acting President Moses Nagamootoo has stressed the importance of rehabilitation and reform of people found with small amounts of the substance rather than imprisonment.

The recent jailing of a 27-year-old father of three, Carl Mangal, for the possession of eight grams of marijuana has prompted many to call for the reform of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.

Mangal was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $30,000, through the act which carries a fine and jail time of no less than three years and no more than five years for possession of the substance.

Addressing a gathering of young entrepreneurs at the Ministry of Social Cohesion’s inaugural Youth Business Summit, the prime minister made clear his position on the matter.

“We have to not condone the use of illicit drugs but we have to make sure that we deal with it in a compassionate and realistic way so that you do not send our young people to jail but to help to rehabilitate and reform them,” he said.

In addition to this, he noted that future violations of the law should be dealt with in a way that is structured to allow offenders to “make life better”, rather than being confined.

At the time, Nagamootoo was reflecting on the challenges affecting youth in Guyana and in the Caribbean and he shared the findings of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Youth Development 2010 report.

The report, Eye on the future: Investing in Youth Now for Tomorrow’s Community, highlighted rising youth crime, unemployment and drug use and abuse as challenges for Caribbean youth.

According to the prime minister, governments are mandated to address these issues. Youth entrepreneurship was touted as an area that should be encouraged.

The prime minister noted that the process of amending the marijuana laws would require broad consultation involving all stakeholders in society.

He explained that some sections of society may be wary about amending the laws to allow for the decriminalisation of small amounts of the substance since it may open the floodgates for further offences but others are less conservative.

“So you’ll have to deal with some of feelings in society as well as attitudes and then you have to do consultations,” he said as he noted that these consultations should include Opposition members since a divided position on the revision of the law is unwanted.

While addressing questions on the progress of amending the law, which has been repeatedly called for, the acting President, said “Progress cannot be determined only at the level of amending the law, progress has to be on the basis of the inclusion of society.”

He reflected on his time learning from the Rastafarian community where he was convinced that the use of the “herbs” was “part and parcel of their cultural traditions”.

“So there are different types of usages of the substances and in Guyana people need to be educated on what is used and what is abused,” Nagamootoo said.

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