CLAIM THAT DECRIMINALISING MARIJUANA COULD HELP ECONOMY

A LOCAL social activist claims decriminalising a controversial
psycho-active drug will positively affect the country's crime level and
stimulate the economy.

In an interview with The Tribune, Sasha Dunn challenged Bahamians to
educate themselves about marijuana and the burgeoning hemp industry, which
he believes is the answer to the country's socio-economic woes.

"Within the past 10 months," said Mr Dunn, "we have witnessed the collapse
of capitalism, the market manifestation of the peak oil crisis, and the
first stages of what seems to be the death of our tourism industry."

"With the legalisation and the proliferation of the hemp industry, the
economy of the Bahamas will experience a turn-around only similar to that
of the switch we made from sponging to tourism in the late 1930s."

Hemp is a sturdy yet pliable fiber that is derived from the Cannabis plant
and cultivated for industrial use. Because the same plant produces
marijuana, the material carries a negative stigma and in most countries no
clear or consistent distinction is made in terms of criminal status.

However, the hemp industry has been steadily growing over the years due to
the plant's low maintenance needs and growth speed, and now boasts a wide
range of products including fuel, soap, clothes, and food products.

But it is not just hemp, but also marijuana itself that Mr Dunn thinks
should be legalised. He charged that most Bahamians are heavily
misinformed about the drug, especially most adults.

He claimed that his message is "not for old people" but for the younger
generation that has to live in the country for the next 30-50 years.

To illustrate his point, Mr Dunn mentioned a city popular for it's unique
approach to drug regulation.

He said that though there isn't a single beach in Amsterdam that can
compare to what the Bahamas offers, the city boasts 3.5 million visitors
per year.

Mr Dunn said he is not the only Bahamian that acknowledges the benefit of
legalising the drug and referred to an online Facebook group titled
'Bahamians For The Legalisation and Decriminalization of Marijuana and
Hemp'.

The group's page boasted 201 members yesterday, and is described as having
been designed and created to help the Bahamians get "marijuana and hemp
legalised and decriminialised to help save our tourism industry and
economy on the whole as well as allowing the medicinal and recreational
use or the marijuana plant."

Mr Dunn is listed as the group's public relations officer, but said all
the views he expressed yesterday are not necessarily shared by all the
members.

"This is not just so we can smoke weed," added Mr Dunn, "anyone right now
could go and get an ounce if they wanted - and its illegal right now. So
it's not so we can smoke weed, clearly the law isn't stopping anyone. "It
is not my goal to persuade you into this idea but rather to encourage
Bahamians to explore this avenue and conduct their own research."