Governance

Rastafarian Council presses for movement on weed bill: Faced with a renewed protest by members of the Rastafarian community for movement on the removal of custodial sentences for the possession of small amounts of marijuana, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has urged patience. The Guyana Rastafari Council, House of Nyahbinghi and the 12 Tribes of Israel on Friday morning held a peaceful protest to call out the government on its delay in addressing the law, following the recent raid done at the house of the Council’s former president Ras Leon Saul, who was held on Wednesday and taken into custody at the Timehri Police Station for the possession of cannabis. The protest was held outside of the Chambers of the Attorney General, where the parties stood peacefully displaying placards highlighting their concerns. Nandlall subsequently acknowledged that the Council’s opportunity for lobbying for the removal of custodial sentences for the possession of small amounts of cannabis has been delayed, as the Parliamentary Select Committee set up to look at the proposed amendment to the law has not yet had the chance to meet. “The bill was laid, it has been fully debated in the National Assembly. Because there was some controversy in relation to the quantum that would not carry a custodial sentence…it was sent to a Select Committee. At the Committee, we intend to hear the views of stakeholders and take them into account. I don’t think that a protest was necessary, and I dare say it was premature,” Nandlall told this newspaper. “It is our policy, as far as possible, to acheive consensus on almost everything that we do, including our legislation. Since this was a narrow issue we believed we could get consensus on, at a Select level, after hearing the views of stakeholders and the opposition, we decided to transmit the bill to a select Committee. Unfortunately, because of COVID the parliament has not been functioning in its full capacity. That committee was unable to meet,” he added.