The Law Reform Commission’s paper makes clear that cannabis prohibition in the Caribbean did not emerge from strong scientific evidence. It was shaped by colonial-era fear, stigma, and the criminalisation of communities such as Rastafarians, with enforcement concerns tied to racial, ethnic, income, and socioeconomic disparities.
Continuing to punish adults for small-scale cannabis possession keeps Cayman attached to an outdated model that criminalises minor conduct while doing little to reduce real harm.
Cayman already recognises that cannabis has medical and therapeutic value through prescribed cannabis extracts and tinctures. It is logically inconsistent to acknowledge its medical use on one hand, while treating small-scale adult possession as deserving penalties of thousands of dollars and possible imprisonment with hard labour on the other. How in the rass is this proportional justice??
The comparison with alcohol is especially important, especially if you lived in the Brac. The paper notes that alcohol-related crime and youth alcohol use are more prevalent than cannabis in the Cayman Islands. In 2023, alcohol was linked to a larger share of violent crime than drugs, and among students, alcohol use began earlier and was more common than marijuana use.
Yet alcohol is regulated, taxed, and socially accepted (drunken dry humping on west bay road in front of kids, anyone?), while cannabis users are still exposed to criminal records, police encounters, and disproportionate penalties.
Cayman should decriminalise small amounts of cannabis immediately, remove criminal records for minor possession, protect medical patients, and create sensible rules around age limits, public use, impaired driving, education, and youth prevention. After that, the country should have an honest conversation about regulated recreational cannabis.
Regulation would allow Cayman to control supply, reduce the black market, set product standards, restrict youth access, and collect revenue instead of wasting public resources on low-level enforcement. It na hard for a 15-year-old to go buy a 5-dolla portion. It would be harder for them to get a cannabis vape from reflections.
A reminder that alcohol is the leading cause of unnatural death in the Cayman Islands, while a plate of turtle is the only thing at risk by a stoned individual.
This comment was posted in response to Discussion paper published on cannabis reform.
