Bahamas introduces legislation to regulate cannabis industry

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis today said he is supporting a compendium of bills to legalise the use of cannabis for medical and religious purposes, to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis.

Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Davis said he was also supporting the measures to regulate the cultivation, sale and use of cannabis and related products within the borders of the country and to promote the health and safety of our people.

Davis told legislators that for years, Bahamians have called for an administration to have the courage to step up and take this issue on in a decisive and responsible manner.

“While many other countries, including nations within our region like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados, have taken steps toward decriminalisation and legalisation for medical use, Bahamians were left wondering when it would be our turn to modernise our local approach to cannabis.”

He said that the national dialogue has been ongoing for the better part of a decade and that many people thought change was imminent when the Marijuana Commission began its work in October 2018.

Davis said these efforts culminated in a preliminary report delivered in January 2020 and a final report delivered in August 2021.

He said the commission cited a wide range of in-person discussions and public opinion research, noting that there appeared to be widespread public support for the legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes.

“There was also healthy support for decriminalisation and an appetite for a strong regulatory and enforcement framework to ensure high standards for this new industry,” Prime Minister Davis said, noting that the recommendations of the commission called for legalisation for medical use, decriminalisation for small amounts, legalisation for use as a religious sacrament for members of the Rastafarian community, as well as strict regulations to ensure the quality and safety of the local cannabis product.

He said in his ruling Progressive Liberal Party's (PLP) “Blueprint for Change, we committed to developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for growing, harvesting, and exporting cannabis to create opportunities for Bahamians. The approach we developed to legislating and regulating cannabis was informed by widespread research and consultation. It was partially based on the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana's research and findings, as well as the approaches of other jurisdictions like Jamaica, Barbados, and Canada, where cannabis has been legalised and regulated.”

Prime Minister Davis told Parliament that his administration's goal was to ensure that the country “developed the most fair, balanced, and effective legislative and regulatory mechanisms, which would allow us to reap economic and health benefits while promoting law and order and keeping our people safe through the introduction of stringent standards.”

He continued, “Once we felt that we had an adequate draft, we released the draft bills publicly, and we held a number of stakeholder consultation sessions, led by the Attorney General's Office, in which we sat down with major stakeholder groups like healthcare providers, leaders of our church community, advocates for legalisation, leaders of the Rastafarian community, as well as those who had concerns about the impact of legalisation and decriminalisation on the proliferation of usage.”

He said these varied opinions were taken into account and adjustments were made to achieve the most practical and effective approach that would work best for the Bahamian people.

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