A lawyer has highlighted the “hypocrisy” surrounding marijuana in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which continues to prosecute people for the plant, even as it celebrates it with its first-ever Cannabliss Festival this weekend.
Grant Connell told the Serious Offences Court that traditional growers of marijuana continue to suffer, even as people who once looked down on them are getting rich off the plant, selling it legally.
The winds of change have blown for cannabis but it is only blowing in the sail of those who have money. That’s the unfortunate thing,” Connell said.
“The traditional farmer so, the bourge dey over dey — the ones who used to look down on the growers of that. But watch now, Cannabliss. If I go Cannabliss, I would be the biggest hypocrite.”
Cannabliss, which is organised by the Medicinal Cannabis Authority, a government agency, takes place daily from today (Friday) to Sunday at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex.
“This event will promote inclusivity and raise awareness about the cannabis plant’s diverse benefits and uses,” the state-owned Agency for Public Information (API) said in a press release.
API said the festival includes “a lineup of activities aimed at exploring the science, culture, and community aspects of cannabis”.
Connell made his comments as he mitigated on Oct. 24 on behalf of four Trinidadians who were nabbed with 240lbs of marijuana in Petit Bordel on Oct. 3.
The Trinidadians — Damian Baptiste aka Tall Boy, 29, Shaqkeim Bolah aka Myng, 21, Isaiah Phillips aka Izee, 23, and Jayron Abraham aka Fat Boy, 21 – came to St. Vincent and the Grenadines illegally eight months earlier to learn to grow marijuana, Connell told the court.
Senior Magistrate Collin John, who presided over the matter, halved the weight of the marijuana, noting that the complete plants with stalks and stems were before the court.
He ordered each of the men to pay a fine of EC$25,000 or spend one year in prison.
In his mitigation, Connell noted that the marijuana was grown locally.
“I happen to pass them downstairs. The smell alone will tell you the quality,” he told the court.
“But it highlights the hypocrisy because on one end, you have all this cannabis in court and the prosecution I’m sure, will ask to impose a fine of $100,000 or jail them or three years.
“On the other end, you have Cannabliss Fest going on somewhere out so. The funny thing is the Cannabliss Fest is not going to make $100,000 but when these four Trinidadians go to jail under the eyes of SOP Bailey, who is already stretched, is $15,000 for each of them to maintain them round there. That is $60,000 a year.
“And you want them to go for three years, that is $180,000, $80,000 more than Cannabliss making,” he said, speculating about the prosecution submission to the court.
“So, the very herb, the very plant that ministers celebrate that last 50 years of the farming and growing of the herb, those who lost their lives at sea, mothers who lost their sons, aunties, brother, etc., those who were termed drugs men, the names, I can call them but we know them all, they were called drugs men by those who are the Christopher Columbuses of ganja land now,” Connell said.
He told the court that people who used to refer to traditional marijuana farmers as ganja men are now “the biggest growers”.
“Ganja gone bourge. These types must go to jail and the other type must make all the money.”
Connell said that the cannabis before the court was “very powerful, medicinal” but the prosecutor would ask the court to order that it be destroyed.
“To destroy good herb that can go out at Cannabliss. So, the whole system turn a joke,” the lawyer said.
He argued that while the prosecution had charged the Trinidadians for possession of 240 pounds of marijuana, three-quarters of it was stick.
“So, the prosecution wants the court to add to the hypocrisy of the entire system to jail the men for sticking in ganja land. St. Vincent is ganja land. Everybody coming here now.”
Connell said he was asked about 10 years ago “by a very influential person in St. Vincent; in fact, the most influential person in St. Vincent, ‘What you want me to do, counsel, smoke weed?’
“Yes! It is the only thing that set us apart from the rest of the Caribbean. The rest of the Caribbean has five stars, they have beaches, they have hotels, they have white sand beaches, they have casino, they have things we don’t have — prostitution; good stuff that we don’t have.
“But we have that,” he said, pointing to the marijuana.
“And the Trinidadians came here to learn to plant that and leave with some of it to go back. It is nothing to be ashamed of. They have broken the law, yes, but as Prosecutor Cato told me, he met somebody outside and he told him, ‘You know, sometimes, the law is an ass.’
“Because in 2018 or thereabout the maximum sentence for possession of cannabis was three years. And then they changed it to seven years. You have to wonder about those who make and change the law.”
In his submission on sentencing, Cato told the court that he had no intention of asking that the four Trinidadians be sent to prison.
However, he said he did not agree that the court should impose a suspended sentence and deport the men, as Connell had suggested.
“What message are you sending to the public?” the prosecutor said.
Hypocrisy to the highest. We seek reparations from the British and at the same time we imprison our young people over a plant that has so much potential to grow our country economically.
Thank you very much Mr. Connell. I recalled during the debates in the house when the so called marijuana decriminalisation bill was being debated. Patel Matthews then then MP for North Leeward made some of the points you mentioned but he was slighted by the powers that be.
Matthews highlighted the plight of the tradition farmers and indocated to the house that they will be forced to continue the illigal trade because the bill didnt provide much for them.
The big monies charged for licenses should have been used to help the farmers out certain things in place for them to be able to compete. However it seems that now another election is on the horizon efforts are being made to hoodwink the ganja farmers.
Urlan, everything you said is right on point. I couldn’t have said better, even if l try. There are three things in life, that would not stay hidden forever. They are the Sun, the Moon and the truth
No hypocrisy here , If you want to grow or sell in svg and not end up in court you must be a ” small business man ” and do so for mr.big and his cousin the trinidadians dont know about that ,yet,they will probably learn in prison
Do we remember who said”If they don’t want our banana they will get our marijuana”? Such hypocrisy …the US tobacco industry got the US gov’t to declare ganja a dangerous drug, and drove ganja planters up in the hills. The US pharmaceutical industry declared coconut oil dangerous to healt and killed the CARICOM Oils and Fats Agreement and our oilo industry, meanwhile the pharmaceutical industry can’t get enough coconut oil. And so it goes. Now just like before as Connell pointed out canabliss is taking over from small farmer..and watch the punishment for breaking the law…really cockeyed!
Connell is correct in what he said about cannbris and ganga.It is hyprocrisy of the highest.
The whole system crash pure b.s goin on!!
Svg ,its rulers and maybe even the economy has in the last 10 or more years seems to have developed a strange but very close relationship with cannabis very ,very often you can read about some festival or information gathering sponsored by the ministry , food production or fishing dont seems to receive similar attention in this country ,i wonder why is that ?. While others are still of the opinion that we need help to recover from a hurricane ,” India Provides 65 Tonnes of Hurricane Relief to SVG ” , our government , ” 3-Day Celebration of Medicinal Cannabis Kicking Off November 1 “, i would dearly love to see the figures as to how many people in svg are gainfully involved in production ( and their ages ) or benefit from this product and also the government koffers as they surely seems concerned about its continued production , how much tax payers money is put into its production and what are the returns ,what are the gains ? , where are the figures people ? or are we just suppose to accept that those above are doing the right thing even when sugar is a scarce commodity here ?
This double standard is a world issue. Laws that defend the rich but have the poor put in jail. John the previous police commissioner should not be the one looking at this case. He was the one going after the marijuana growers for years and now he’s continuing to criminalize them.
Doesn’t add up!
Percy, I am in total agreement with everything you have said in your comment. I couldn’t have said it better myself. We, as Vincentians have been deceived and lied to, by our government.
There is an old adage that goes like this “one cannot put the fox to guard the hen house. ” The fox is not a natural guardian of the hen house. In local parlance we, should substitute the fox for the mongoose since the fox is not found in SVG.
Similarly, one cannot put the former Commissioner John as head of the committee which seeks to decriminalize the felon associated with ganga production. The former Commissioner was responsible for prosecuting the un-sophhisticated Ganga farmer.. What a st vincent.
It’s speak volume of the way we see our selfish desires to enrich those from affare while holding back the traditional planter who has laboured to see this become a vibrant industry
In my opinion, Mo crack heads , mo criminals among E young youths, I pray for them an me country. Will De rich get richer an de poor youths get dotish crazy? Just a thought