On Friday, Dec. 8, marijuana lovers in Bermuda received an early Christmas present with the House agreeing to decriminalizesmall amounts of cannabis on the island nation.
Bermuda’s Minister of Social Development Zane DeSilva tabled the amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act which allowed the House to decriminalize possession of up to 7 grams of pot.
Police will still be permitted to seize any amount of cannabis found, but once this amendment becomes law, 7 grams of cannabis or under will not be sanctioned with criminal prosecution. With that in mind, the Director of Public Prosecutions in Bermuda can still proceed with charges if there is evidence of trafficking in any given case.
A different but similar legislation to decriminalize cannabis was advanced in May but never made it to the Senate for review because of the General Elections.
As per the Parliamentary process, the amendment should now go to the Senate.
If Bermuda fully adopts the motion, it will join other island nations that have enacted cannabis reform including Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
credit:marijuana.com
