July 17th, 2020
Eoin Keenan
The amendment was out forward on Wednesday 15th July, to the Committee For Home Affairs as part of a Justice Review Report, requesting:
‘To direct the Committee for Home Affairs to consult with relevant stakeholders and to return to the States with a Policy Letter and suitable Propositions no later than July 2021, recommending the introduction of a statutory regime, akin to that in countries such as Canada, to enable the lawful and regulated production, distribution, sale and possession of quality controlled cannabis for recreational purposes.’
The proposal states that the Committee for Home Affairs has one year to collect information and present its full case for a recreational cannabis regime.
The amendment was put forward by Deputy Marc Leadbetter and Deputy Charles Parkinson, in conjunction with another harm-reduction amendment to reconsider Guernsey’s approach to policing ‘cannabis possession and use (especially in small amounts for personal use)’ in order to achieve more positive outcomes for alcohol and substance abuse and domestic abuse.
The submissions of the proposals represent a significant moment for the island community, which will be looking at the legalisation of adult-use cannabis on British soil as a landmark moment. The island is a British Crown Dependency, however, Guernsey has almost complete autonomy over its own internal affairs, which means that drug policy legislation can be passed without the approval of the British government.
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