Grenada’s reform is building regional momentum, but Bermuda’s path runs straight into a UK veto, and the clash reveals where Caribbean legalization spreads, and where it stalls.
Grenada decriminalized cannabis in January and set the legal age for consumption to 21 years old nationwide. Drug policy reform advocates are now setting their sights on Bermuda to see if it will be the next Caribbean country to fully legalize. As Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory, this might be too complex a legal revision to accomplish at the local level.
Medical cannabis was introduced in 2016 in Bermuda, with possession of up to seven grams (¼ oz) being decriminalized in 2017, according to the Decriminalization of Cannabis Amendment Act. The Medical Cannabis Act of 2019 proposed the creation of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority. However, today, its mandate has not come to fruition.
Britain v. Bermuda, A Battle Royale
Next, the 2020 proposed Cannabis Licensing Act, which sought full adult-use legalization, was coupled with a bid for Bermudian independence, which may have contributed to its failure to pass. Cannabis is not legal for adult use in the United Kingdom, and UK officials signaled little appetite for a Bermuda move that could create political and legal friction.
However, the premier denied this bid for independence while sticking to his guns about legalization.
“If Her Majesty’s representative in Bermuda does not give assent to something that has been passed lawfully and legally under this local government, this will destroy the relationship we had with the United Kingdom,” he said.
This disagreement put Bermuda on the brink of a constitutional crisis and a potential break with Britain in 2022, after Britain blocked the Government’s flagship legislation to legalize the use and sale of cannabis, according to The Royal Gazette.
In an unprecedented move, Rena Lalgie, the Governor …
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Author: Sara Brittany Somerset / High Times
