Make medical marijuana available in Gaol

EDITOR: We might argue and say, ‘why the hell they are in gaol (jail) in the first place’ and justifiably so, but we must remember that we are not living in a perfect world, though most of us strive for some level of perfection. But prisoners are humans too, and also have human rights that MUST be respected.

Secondly, I must here state publicly that if is was not for the judicial system, with its laws to protect all citizens, and law enforcement to ensure that those laws are respected and obeyed, this society would have been comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah, where just about anything was the ‘norm’. Part of the judicial system is the area of reform, which in most cases is in the form of imprisonment, or gaol.

Jail is the institution where those persons who have been caught and convicted for breaking the law and have been prosecuted by the system, are ‘put away’ from society and for good reason. Now, not all persons in jail are criminals, some have been framed, or been at the wrong place at the wrong time, or even jailed for their religious or political beliefs. So jail can be the melting pot of the worst and in some cases the best (Nelson Mandela) in society.

I describe jail as hell on earth, as the majority of these inmates have been overcome by evil spirits, because no one with a Godly spirit, will rob, rape, steal and kill among other vices. So those who are in charge of managing these manifestations of evil must be spiritually strong and in tune with the Almighty, because evil is a mighty force. Both inmates and ‘tunkeys’, as prisoner officers are referred to, live under constant stress, and duress, but this can be eased by medical ganja which is now available in SVG.

Medical Marijuana is now globally accepted as a safe and inexpensive way of curing certain cancers, enhancing behavior of persons suffering from a plethora of syndromes, and most importantly as a stress reliever, yes, marijuana is also a mild sedative, with a great side effect, sleep. Sleep, or rest of body and soul allows body functions to revive and regenerate.

With the high stress environment in jail, inmates in particular, because they are locked away from society, need an aid in the counselling they receive and this can be adequately and safely administered with the use of medical marijuana (MM). Not only will the tension in the jail lessen, but local producers of MM will have a domestic market for their product. Additionally, it will also lessen the illicit trade of drugs in the jail, yes, on any given day you can get weed, crack or rum to buy in jail.

How these items find their way in jail can be left up to your imagination, but the constant vigilance of prison officers unearths these items regularly, and offenders when caught are put into solitary confinement.

I hate to say this but the government is sadly wanting by not legalizing cannabis for recreational and religious use the same time they did it for medicinal use. It is highly unfair for some entities to cultivate ganja legally and at the same time criminalize the same product for recreational use, this is anathema, contradiction at its worst !!! According to one of their mouth pieces, ganja will eventually be legalized for recreational use, and two years have almost gone since that legislation was passed and persons are still charged for weed. I am really disappointed and so are many other Vincentians, some of whom are afraid to speak out because they support the ruling party and don’t want to upset the Cde.

Now, more than ever, marijuana NEEDS to be decriminalized, we are in the middle of two on going national crises and the tension is running high, we need to calm down, and rum and crack are NOT the answer. GC & RM I’m backing you 100%. FREE UP THE HERB !!!

Donald De Riggs