No consideration will be given to authorizing clinical studies on marijuana until the government has formulated a position on the issue and determined the blueprint for the way forward, according to Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands.
Sands was responding to Caribbean Association of Pharmacists President Dr. Marvin Smith, who recently said the association has been advocating for the government to allow the local pharmaceutical industry to conduct clinical studies on the various uses of marijuana.
According to Smith, the national debate on marijuana lacks the guidance of science-driven empirical evidence.
But Sands said until the government completes the process it has agreed to follow via CARICOM, including broad consultation, a research position cannot be formulated.
“I don’t know where this research would be done or how it would be done,” said Sands of the proposed clinical studies.
“I thought it was intriguing because there are some logical challenges to do what he suggested ought to be or needed to be done.
“I don’t know how it could possibly be done.
“We’re not talking about Tylenol or Aspirin, but a controlled substance.
“It makes for interesting conversation, but the government of The Bahamas is not minded to engage in those studies or [agree] to support such studies.
“That’s not to be controversial, but until such time as we complete the process that we have agreed to follow, which is to participate in the CARICOM discussion on marijuana, liberalization or decriminalization, then we need to, as the prime minister has alluded, conduct our own determination on our position or the government’s position on marijuana, which then generates a broad consultative process with the population.
“I think only then would you get research positions that could or might be supported.
“So, I heard it (the association’s appeal for clinical studies).
“In isolation it is an interesting proposition, but in the confines of the existing structure, I think at this point it’s an interesting observation and not much else.”
Sands acknowledged that the approach to marijuana in The Bahamas is likely to change, though he did not opine further.
“That is the thrust that seems to be coming from many different quarters,” the minister said.
“If you accept that as truth, then what [will] change?
“And what is the basis on that change? How far are you prepared to go?
“Are you going to go as far as Florida, Colorado or Canada?
“How far are you going to go?”
Despite a global trend toward decriminalization and approximately two dozen U.S. states legalizing the drug for medicinal and recreational use, marijuana has remained controversial with significant opposition.
And The Bahamas’ closest ally, the United States, recently took steps that could see stricter enforcement of the drug.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era policy that eased enforcement of federal marijuana laws, a clear indication of the Trump administration’s position on the drug and its use.
Sands pointed out that The Bahamas should be observant of what the United States is doing at a federal level, so as not to “fly in the face of a well-established and long-established policy, whether you agree with it or don’t”.
He said, “Prudence, judgment and some degree of patience are all in order.”
credit:thenassauguardian.com
