RETHINK LAWS ON GANJA

I too am an educated young Caymanian with a great and steady job
(even though I drink occasionally).

I often wonder why there is so much emphasis placed on the users and
abusers of a drug like marijuana when the risks of alcohol and
tobacco outweigh that of 'weed'.

I know a lot of young Caymanians both smart and not so smart, who
have tried it in their 'experimental phase' and got into trouble for
it, whether the first time or after a few tries.

And because of it they now have been branded as 'criminal' and
finding work is impossible irregardless of their merits or that is
was a one time mistake.

If our policemen and elected officials would only look at the domino
effect caused by putting young Caymanians in jail for this offence a
lot of the violence, disturbances and idleness could decline
drastically.

I know that there is a vast population of Caymanians, young and old,
working and unemployed, white and black that use this drug for
whatever reasons they might have and still maintain a good if not
high standard of living and they don't cause trouble or get into fights.

In quite a few countries where there are laws that govern the use of
marijuana, the police forces there have seemed to figure out that
pursuing criminal charge against marijuana users have proved futile
and a waste of precious resources that could be put to better use.

I think that if an officer of the law can find the time to drive
around the streets of Cayman looking for individuals consuming ganja
that simply means the crime in our islands is nowhere near as bad as
we perceive it to be. But we all know that's not true. We all know
the crime rate in Cayman is rising at an astounding level with new
and creative ways that people are finding to defraud others.

Why aren't the police concentrating on them, or on the guy who
imports 50 pounds of ganja verses wasting time on the guy who has one
'roach'?

Better yet concentrate on the coke, heroin, ecstasy and PCP
importers....oh I forgot, after spending all the money on the hundred
or so weed smokers brought in for processing there is no money left
to actively pursue, investigate or follow leads in relation to the
big boy importers or criminals.

It almost seems like a conspiracy....as if all the big importers and
criminals are wealthy, high placed men and women who have 'paid'
their debts to our society and therefore can carry on whatever
schemes best suit their needs and lines their coffers the easiest and
quickest?

I do believe this should be looked into but I highly doubt it ever
will be.

Sheredan Bodden