The Bahamas is considering legalizing weed for religious and medicinal uses

Government officials in the Bahamas last week introduced a series of measures that would dramatically change the country’s marijuana laws, including a proposal that would legalize cannabis for religious and medicinal purposes.

The Associated Press reports that the Bahamian government has introduced “several bills” aimed at marijuana reform. One of those would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to the AP.

More from the Associated Press on the proposals:

“If approved, those caught with less than 30 grams (an ounce) of marijuana would be fined $250 and the incident would not appear on their criminal records. Purchasing marijuana for recreational purposes would still be illegal. Officials said licenses for cultivation, retail, transportation and religious use would only be granted to wholly Bahamian-owned companies. Research, testing and manufacturing licenses would be granted to companies at least 30% owned by the Bahamas.”

According to online resource Cannigma, laws in the Bahamas “prohibit recreational use and those caught doing so face hefty fines and lengthy prison terms.”

The website explains that the country “legislated against marijuana use with the passage of the Dangerous Drugs Act in 1929” and that in the early 1960s the Bahamas “broadened its definition of illicit marijuana use to include hemp products and substances containing CBD.” “.

“The Bahamas’ marijuana laws remained largely unchanged until January 2018, when the Caribbean Community Regional Commission held a town hall meeting on the possibility of decriminalizing cannabis. A government committee has been established to advise the people of the Bahamas on their views on the country’s future marijuana laws and policies,” Cannigma said. “In May 2021, following the release of the committee’s findings, a preliminary bill updating marijuana laws in the Bahamas was leaked to the press. The latest bill calls for the legalization of medical marijuana. Similar to Thailand, the current Bahamas government is trying to boost the local economy by allowing local farmers to grow the crop and sell it to local medical facilities and cannabis dispensaries.”

The Bahamas’ reform move comes more than two months after another Caribbean government, the country of Antigua and Barbuda, became the first country in the Rastafarian region to allow marijuana cultivation and use.

“We are freer now,” said Ras Tashi, a member of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari.

Marijuana — or “ganja” as it’s known in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean — plays a sacred role in Rastafarian culture.

As the Associated Press explained back in 2021:

“The Rastafarian faith has its roots in Jamaica in the 1930s and grew as a black response to colonial white oppression. The faith is an amalgamation of Old Testament teachings and a desire to return to Africa. Rastafarians believe that marijuana use is described in scriptures and that the “sacred herb” induces a meditative state. Believers smoke it as a sacrament in chalice pipes or cigarettes called spliffs, add it to vegetarian stews, and burn it as a burnt offering.”

Rastafarians had been campaigning for the legalization of marijuana for years, and many of their supporters were jailed and punished by law enforcement for the practice.

“We believe we need to give everyone a seat at the table, regardless of their religion,” said Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne. “As we have recognized other faiths, it is absolutely critical for us to ensure that the Rastafarian religion is also recognized… to recognize their constitutional right to worship and use cannabis as a sacrament.”

Other countries in the Caribbean have also taken steps towards marijuana reform.

Marijuana has been decriminalized in Jamaica, where government officials discussed giving more support to the country’s small-scale cannabis farmers earlier this year.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Virgin Islands “legalized the recreational and sacramental use of marijuana for everyone age 21 and older, joining several countries in the socially conservative Caribbean that have relaxed their cannabis laws,” the Associated Press reported in January.

“We’re giving you opportunities, but you also have to do your part to take advantage of those opportunities,” said Albert Bryan Jr., the governor of the US Virgin Islands after signing the bill at the time.

“My goal is to ensure that many of us who have been adversely affected by the criminalization of cannabis are given every opportunity to participate in this new and legal cannabis industry,” Bryan added.

The new law allows “persons 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana, half an ounce of concentrate and 1 ounce of products such as edibles for recreational, sacramental and other uses,” according to the Associated Press.

The US Virgin Islands legalized medical marijuana in 2019.