Dr. Timothy Harris has the right Idea about marijuana….

St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris has come out calling on citizens to reject the Idea of decriminalization of marijuana because of the many lives that have been destroyed by the drug in the Federation.

The St. Kitts & Nevis Observer reported that Harris has taken notice of the many reckless statements that are being made in relation to the plant in its current landscape. Dr. Harris said what might be accepted elsewhere is not necessarily suited for his country. He however admitted that a time for legalization may come but now is not the time and there are lots to examine as part of the challenges when exploring the benefits of legalizing marijuana.

Here on St. Maarten, Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel, while debating the 2018 budget brought forward the Idea of legalizing Marijuana as one of the ways of making money to offset the deficit on the budget but one will have to wonder if there was any serious consideration given to this idea before mentioning it publicly when there are so much more possibilities for generating money that we are incapable of handling.

We are clueless at the moment as to how we can enforce compliance on the part of tax payers paying their fair share of taxes to the government and the man power to administer these laws; To take on a challenge as such, of legalizing Marijuana requires lots of debate in government and among the public and a propose suitable frame work on how exactly this will help the government raise money. In the absence of such systematic approach, this Idea can only be political rhetoric.  We have more important things to take care of now in the aftermath of Irma that will benefit our people and our country than to engage in these type of proposals that will get us nowhere and encourage more lawlessness. The time for that will come.

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