Getting blacklisted
I FIND it hard to believe that Fiji could get blacklisted if marijuana was made legal (FT 03/07), especially that many countries have moved forward in legalising it for medical use.
Many countries have also legalised marijuana for recreational use and many have adopted a policy of decriminalising it to make simple possession a non-criminal offence.
Our neighbour New Zealand announced a nationwide, binding referendum on the legality of cannabis for personal use, set to be held as part of the 2020 general election.
The referendum will be a yes/no question to enact a yet to be created piece of legislation.
What I find strange is that marijuana is no different from alcohol or kava. They are all mind-altering substances but one is illegal while others are legal? What’s even more strange is that kava is allowed to be consumed even during working hours.
Blacklisted or not, marijuana is a widely used recreational drug in Fiji and we cannot deny that fact.
The benefits from legalising it outweighs the negatives and it’s about time we grow up and move forward. Our current stance on marijuana is making people use much harder synthetic drugs which is even worse.
A simple test will prove how effective and beneficial marijuana can be. If you know of someone who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, roll him or her a joint or make marijuana cookies for him/her to consume, and within a minute the tremors will stop. Now if that is not a good thing then we are not just narrow-minded but stupid as well. Marijuana is just a natural plant and I find it rather strange when nature is made illegal! SIMON HAZELMAN
Rava Estate, Savusavu