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(CNS): Attorney General Samuel Bulgin has said he will ask the chief justice to conduct a review of sentences that have been handed down to those convicted of drug offences following concerns that visitors who are bringing drugs into Cayman accidentally or deliberately are facing far less severe sanctions than locals for similar crimes. The issue was raised by Chris Saunders MP (BTW) in parliament last month when he said he believed Caymanians were being treated differently than travellers.
In the final sitting of the year, the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which will modernise the legislation and improve enforcement, was steered through the House. During the debate, Saunders offered his backing to the legislation but asked what could be done about the different treatment being handed out by the courts.
“There seems to be a difference sentencing guideline for people who show up at the airport with drugs… or gummies, for example, and then those who are Caymanians,” he said, as he pointed to the recent hospitalisation of children who ingested gummies that are legal elsewhere. He also suggested an amnesty bin for visitors who realise that cannabis is not legal here so they can dump it before officially entering the country.
But for those who are importing drugs that make it onto the street, there should not be a difference in sentences handed to visitors and local dealers, he said.
As he wrapped up the debate, Bulgin said that the best way to address the issue would be to ask the chief justice to review the sentences handed down over the last five years and collate the data to determine whether there is evidence to support this concern.
“The best way for me to do that and to help have the matter properly ventilated is to speak to the chief justice to see if we can look back at five years of data… and assist us with that empirical evidence so we can have an informed position on the issue,” Bulgin told the parliament.
He said he was not in a position to say whether or not there was any deliberate effort in how sentences are handed out based on “one’s nationality, status, or anything”.
Since cannabis has become legal in Canada and parts of the United States, there has been a proliferation of various edible products that users sometimes forget they have or make the incorrect assumption that the drug is legal to possess across the Americas.
But here in Cayman, possessing anything but prescription oils and tinctures is illegal. Even the consumption of cannabis is still a crime, making this country an outlier and creating a situation that must be addressed, given the changing culture surrounding the use and misuse of drugs and the fact that consumption could now be as a result of legally prescribed cannabis medicines.
However, the government failed to use the opportunity with this amendment bill to decriminalise consumption.
While a referendum on the issue has been proposed to take place at the same time as the general election, it is bundled with questions on the cruise port issue and a national lottery. Since the UPM does not have the numbers to steer the referendum bill published in December through parliament, it will likely fail due to the controversies tied to the cruise berthing question.
This means that unless the government decides to amend the bill to remove the cruise question, the ganja and gambling questions won’t be asked, and the consumption and possession of small quantities of ganja will remain a crime.
See the debate on the amendment of the Misuse of Drugs bill on CIGTV below:
“]] Attorney General Sam Bulgin in parliament (CNS): Attorney General Samuel Bulgin has said he will ask the chief justice to conduct a review of sentences that have been handed down to those convicted… Read More
