Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the Caribbean nation will legalize medical cannabis use, the Daily Mail reports. Browne said that prohibition was not for the health and well-being of users, rather to serve the “racist, political, and economic interests of the global powers at that time.”
Antigua and Barbuda made moves to decriminalize cannabis last February.
“The prohibition and demonization have led to Rastafari being brutalized and castigated by police and other Government authorities, because of the utilization of the plant Cannabis Sativa. It is in this context, and now that my Government has liberalized the legislation regarding cannabis, and is moving towards the medicinal and other uses of this natural substance, that I have issued a ‘genuine’ apology to the Rastafarian Community.” – Browne, in a statement, via the Daily Mail
Under the decriminalization plan, citizens can possess up to 15 grams for personal use and grow up to four plants.
“Now the Government is going one step further, arranging for this agricultural product to be grown under certain conditions and eventually turned into useful pharmaceuticals. … We would strongly encourage other Commonwealth Heads of Government to follow the lead of Antigua and Barbuda and Canada which are both placing people’s health before politics and profit by legalizing and regulating the drug market.” – Browne, in a statement
Antigua and Barbuda joins Jamaica among Caribbean nations to have legalized cannabis for medical use.
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