Let's be frank folks, for a long time ALCOHOL was outlawed in America, etc. And facts are facts, if someone wants to drink, smoke, sniff, etc, typically they will drink, smoke, sniff.
But the real issue is, does smoking blunts necessitate such strict laws and jail time. After all, pharmacies sell drugs every day.
So, to put this in a global context, there are laws that are meant to help humanity and other that are meant to generate money for certain industries (jail system, court system, etc). The benefits of legalizing marijuana are tremendous. saving money for more critical needs (jobs, education, AIDs fight). But even better, the marijuana dealers themselves will probably generate less money since market forces will fall into place. Further, rather than the murders and police raids, etc, imagine a smoker stopping by a local supplier, and paying a few dollars for a joint, just like a person buying cigarettes. No guns, no excessive violence. And certainly tobacco is more deadly to human body than marijuana.
Now posting this message does mean that I smoke, nor do I condone smoking joints or cigarettes. But if I had to choose between the Bahamas (and America) spending tons of money on fighting pot versus investing those funds into our poor communities, then you know I'd go with the later.
So Bahamians, look at some of our laws that are on the books, and see which ones are just creating problems, and which are truly beneficial. Now laws against murder make sense (I question the execution outcome but that's another issue). And laws against robbery I understand (although if you want to really stop most robberies give the youth a good culturally sound education and employment or entrepreneurial opportunities). But a law against smoking a joint. Come one, even trafficking of marijuana should be allowed.
Would I go as far as to say legalize all illegal drugs. Partially. There are some drugs that clearly lead to people getting violent, etc. I think that acid and similar drugs are dangerous not only to the taker, but those around him/her. So if a drug leads to a person acting the fool and hurting others, then by all means make it (and keep it) illegal. But marijuana, come on. I know my Christian friends and relatives will find this a hard "pill to swallow" no pun intended. But if anyone out there is drinking wine, beer, etc, then you surely understand that a joint is only illegal "it is easier to produce that pharmacy owned drugs".
It's all about the money, so we must change things to be ALL ABOUT HUMAN LIFE.
NOTE TO IMMIGRATION: If I do visit the Bahamas, fear not, I don't smoke at all so no need to "beat a brother down". :-) Just wanted to post this message to stir up a conversation that is long over due.

Besides the real issue isn't who's smoking, but rather: "What drives a person, in western society, to feel the need to escape. What are they trying to escape and are they ever able to truly escape, or are they simply on a brief trip, from which, they must return? Thus, isn't it better to evaluate society and the challenges we face (racism, self-hate, religious intellerance, AIDs, gang violence, fatherless homes) than whose smoking and what CID could do they catch DEM.?!?

We have so many brothers, cousins, sons, grandsons, fathers locked in Fox Hill prison (and prisons across America) for selling or having marijuana. How insane?

Let them out, legalize marijuana and move onto things like; Murder; racism, imperialism, AIDs, cancer research, cures for brain diseases, unification of Bahamas and Caribbean region, improving schools, etc.

It's 2008, time for wisdom not so much old school antics and strategies that IMPALE our youth to the walls of FOX HILL prison.

Maybe one day I'll return to Bahamas, run for Primeminister and set our brothers FREE.

Pot heads are scumbags.

Not really ya know...GW makes this list too, BTW :shhh:

Famous Potheads...err...scumbags..

# Aaron Sorkin, creator of ''The West Wing".
# Art Garfunkel , singer, Simon and Garfunkel.
# Abbie Hoffman, Activist.
# Al and Tipper Gore Politicians
# Aleister Crowley, Author and Famous Satanist.
# Alexander Dumas, Author - "The Three Musketeers"
# Ali Campbell, Singer with UB40
# Alice B. Toklas. Famous Cook
# Allen Ginsberg, Poet.
# Andrea Corr, musician, "The Corrs".
# Anjelica Huston, Actress.
# Arnold Schwarzenegger. Actor. ``I did smoke a joint and I did inhale.''
# Art Garfunkel. Singer of, "Simon and Garfunkel" fame.
# Arthur Rimbaud.
# Balzac.
# Beatles.
# Benjamin Franklin, Many claims but little proof.
# Bill "...but I didn't inhale." Clinton, Politician.
# Bill Gates. Not confirmed, just very strongly hinted at in his Playboy interview.
# Bill Murray Arrested for possession.
# Bing Crosby. Famous crooner of "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas".
# Bix Beiderbecke Jazz musician.
# Black Crowes, musicians
# Bob Denver, Star of "Gilligan's Island".
# Bob Dylan, musician.
# Bob Marley, musician
# Burt Reynolds, actor.
# Bruce Lee.
# Cab Calloway, Jazz musician. Claimed he only used it once.
# Carl Sagan, Scientist - SiFi writer - film "Contact" More info here.
# Carlos Santana musician.
# Carrie Fischer, Actress
# Charlie Sheen, actor.
# Charlize Theron, Actress.
# Charles Beaudelaire, Author.
# Cheech Marin, Actor, Don Johnson's sidekick in the TV detective series "Nash Bridges."
# Chris Conrad, Author and expert on Cannabis Hemp
# Chris Farley. Comedian.
# Chrissie Hynde, musician.
# Chris Rock, Actor, Comedian, Producer, Screenwriter.
# Chubby Checker, Musician. Sang; "Lets Twist Again".
# Cilla Black, Musician and presenter. Tried it in the '60's but didn't like it.
# Claire Rayner, Agony Aunt.
# Cody Kasch Actor. TV series Desperate Housewives
# Conan O'Brian TV Host
# Count Basie, Jazz Ban Leader. He was on an DEA file of marajuana users.
# Dame Margot Fonteyn, Prima ballerina. Also see entries for Rudolf Nureyev.
# David Bailey, Photographer .
# Dan Quayle . Politician.
# David Hockney, Artist.
# Diego Rivera Mexican Artist
# Dion Fortune Welsh occultist.
# Dionne Warwick, Famous singer of "Walk on by".
# Dioscorides Pedanius, 1 st cent. AD. Greek physician.
# Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz musician
# Dr Francis Crick. Nobel Prize winner.
# Dr Lester Grinspoon.
# Dr R.D.Laing
# Dr W.B. O'Shaugnessy Re-introduced cannabis to European medicine.
# Drew Barrymore, actress.
# Duke Ellington, Jazz Band Leader. He was on an DEA file of marajuana users.
# Elliott Gould. Actor.
# Eminem, musician.
# Emperor Liu Chi-nu, made medical recomendation for its use.
# Emperor Shen-Nung, made first known medical recommendation for its use.
# Errol Flynn, Actor
# Evelyn Waugh. Author.
# Francis Ford Coppella, Film Director. Mentioned in "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" by Peter Biskind
# Frances McDormand , Actress. Raising Arizona, Burning Mississippi, Fargo.
# Fats Waller, musician.
# Fitz Hugh Ludlow - wrote 'The Hasheesh Eater'.
# Francois Rabelais. 16 th French author. Recommended it as a food not a high.
# Friedrich Nietzsche, Used it as a medicine.
# Gary Johnson. Governor of New Mexico - Reformer.
# Gene Krupa, Jazz musician.
# George Gurdjieff , Russian Mystic.
# George W Bush Politician
# George Melly, Jazz musician.
# George Soros, Financier and reformer.
# George Washington , grew it and there is evidence that he prepared it for smoking.

* And incidentally many other US presidents use to smoke Hemp. Thomas Jefferson.
* James Madison.
* James Monroe.
* Andrew Jackson,
* Zachary Taylor.
* Franklin Pierce.
* Also see entries for Bill Clinton and George Bush.

# Gerard de Nerval French writer
# Graham Greene, Author.
# Grateful Dead musicians.
# Harrison Ford, Actor. This is a claim made by Bill Maher that has not been denied.
# Hasan I-Sabah (Hasan-bin-Sabah) Leader of the Assassins.
# Heinrich Khunrath, Medieval Alchemist. and Philosopher.
# Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Russian Theosophist.
# Henri Michaux poet and painter
# Howard Marks. Ex-smuggler and Raconteur.
# H R H Prince Harry, Third in line to the British throne.
# H R H Princess Margaret, sister to Her Majesty the Queen. Her son disputes the claim.
# Howard Stern, admitted it on the radio.
# Hua T'o Medical use as anaesthetic .
# Hunter S. Thompson, Author
# Isabel Allende, Chilean author. Mentioned in her book "Paula".
# Jack Kerouac, Author
# Jack Nicholson, actor.
# Jackie Gleason, actor. Another whom the DEA kept on their pot files.
# James Brown, musician
# Janis Joplin, musician. Tried it but "... she didn't like marijuana, it gave her the jitters."
# Jane Fonda, Actress.
# Jennifer Aniston, actress. "I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it", Daily Mail, 11/9/01.
# Jennifer Capriati, Tennis champ.
# Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota.
# Jesus Christ. 'healed using cannabis'.
# Jim Morrison, musician.
# Jimmy Dorsey, Jazz musician, He was on an DEA file of marijuana users.
# Jimmy Hendrix, musician
# Joan of Arc, was accused of using witch herbs (another name cannabis).
# John Belushi, actor. Perhaps not a particularly good role model!
# John Denver, musician. He recorded a song about it.
# John F Kennedy. Politician.
# John Kerry . Politician. US Senator and Presidential candidate. Also see
# John Lennon. musician.
# John Le Mesurier. Actor. Tried it but said it's not for him.
# John Wayne, Actor, "I tried it once but it didn't do anything to me."
# Jonathan Miller, Theatre Director.
# Johnny Cash, musician. Sang songs for NORML album.
# Jon Snow, Channel 4 News presenter. (UK)
# Julia Roberts, Actress, "I smoked dope twice," ..." It made me too sleepy..."
# Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, legendary Los Angeles Lakers Basketball star
# Kary Mullis, Nobel Laurate, Biology. Is on NORML Board of directors.
# Ken Kesey, Author of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)
# Kenneth Tynan, Playwright.
# Kurt Cobain, musician.
# Larry Hagman, actor, of "JR" fame.
# Led Zeppelin, musicians.
# Lenny Bruce, Comedian.
# Lewis Carroll, Author
# Lewis Wolpert, biologist.
# Little Richard, musician.
# Louis Armstrong, Jazz musician. The 'bust' in his own words.
# Luke Perry, actor.
# Louis Hebert, French Botanist
# Macaulay Culkin. Actor, Home Alone.
# Mark Stepnoski. two-time Super Bowl champ, Dallas Cowboy.
# Mick Jagger, musician
# Mike Bloomberg. New York City Mayor.
# Mike Tyson, Boxer.
# Miles Davis, Jazz musician.
# Milton Berle, Actor another one on the DEA list of smokers
# Mo Mowlam, Minister recently in charge of UK drug policy.
# Modigliani. Sculptor.
# Montel Williams Chat show host.
# Montgomery Clift, actor, mentioned in his biography.
# Neil Diamond, musician.
# Neil Young, Musician.
# Newt Gingrich Speaker of the US Senate.
# Norman Mailer, Author.
# Oasis, Noel Gallagher "smoking cannabis is as normal as having a cup of tea"
# Ocean Colour Scene, "the hardest smoking band in music" Q Magazine. 02/02.
# Oliver Stone, Film Director.
# Oscar Wilde, Author. "Bosie and I have taken to hashish,"
# Pablo Picasso, Artist.
# Pancho Villa, Revolutionary Leader.
# Peregrine Worthstone, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph.
# Peter Fonda, actor. "I don't trust anybody who didn't inhale."
# Peter Sellers, actor.
# Peter Tosh, Poet.
# Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Former Prime Minister of Canada.
# Pink. Musician. Mentioned in Playboy interview (11/02).
# Pink Floyd, Musicians.
# P. J. O'Rouke. Author.
# Pythagoras, Mathematician.
# Queen Victoria.
# Ram Dass, Philosopher.
# Ray Charles, musician.
# Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize Laureate physicist.
# Richard Pryor, actor.
# Robert Anton Wilson. Philosopher .
# Robert Mitchum, Actor, was jailed in the 40s for possession of marijuana.
# Rolling Stones, musicians.
# Rosie Boycott, former Editor of the Daily Express and The Independent.
# Ross Rebagliati, first ever snowboarding Gold Medallist, 1998 Winter Olympics.
# Rudolf Nureyev, Ballet dancer. Also see entry for Margot Fonteyn.
# Rudyard Kipling . Author.
# Ryan Farrell, Australian Sprint Car champion.
# Salvador Dali, Artist.
# Samuel Beckett, Author.
# Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Author.
# Sidi-Hidi. Sacred religious figure of Morocco, believed to have brought cannabis to the Atlas.
# Sinead O'Connor, musician.
# Sir Paul McCartney, Musician.
# Sir Mick Jagger, Musician. Of whom it was written; "Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel".
# Snoop Dogg, musician.
# Steve Martin , Actor.
# Stephen King. Author, "Tommy Knockers".
# Steve Jobs, co-creator of the Apple computer.
# Steven Soderbergh, Film director.
# Stephen Sondheim. Broadway composer and lyricist.
# Sting / Gordon Sumners, musician.
# Ted Turner, of CNN fame. This is a claim made by Bill Maher that has not been denied
# Terence McKenna.
# Terry Pratchett. Author of the "Diskworld" books. A bit of a cheeky claim perhaps, in that he did not object to being given a "cake".
# The Who, musicians.
# Thelonious Monk, Jazz musician.
# Timothy Leary
# Tomas Enge, Formula 3000 World Champion.
# Tommy Chong. Actor with Cheech Marin in "Up in Smoke " - "Cheech & Chong".
# Tommy Lee, Musician.
# Tony Booth, the father-in-law of Britain's Prime Minister. Smoked it in No 10.
# UB40, Band.
# Victor Hugo. Author 'Les Misérables'
# Walter 'Stumpy' Brennan actor.
# Walter Benjamin, Philosopher.
# Wesley Snipes, actor. Has been seen in Cannabis Cafes.
# Whitney Houston, musician.
# William Butler Yeats. Famous Irish Poet and Occultist.
# William S. Burroughs, Author.
# William Shakespeare. Dramatist. More here.
# Willie Nelson, musician.
# Woody Harrelson, Actor and reformer.
# Zoroaster, Persian prophet.

Rory you called them scumbags. If you were to provide: a) Definition of scumbag and b) Direct correlation between your usage and pot smokers, you would have had a more credible response.

It's 2008, responses that lack teeth are weak. Give details and some credible intelligent backing to your point, or "get out the outhouse" dread!

Are you with the CIA?

Hows this for a definition, they are criminals and we will continue to lock them up. If they dont want to goto jail, stop breaking the law, stop smoking dope in public, and if not, then they will wish they had an outhouse cause in Fox hill there is only a bucket to crap in.


where do you live? Do you honestly think a jail will jail someone for a joint? Hell, people with shipments worth millions only get 3-4 years.

Rory: if you know anything about "FIGURES OF SPEECH" and logic you used two tricks.

a) Appeal to Authority (meaning just because the laws exists and there's a government that enacted it doesn't make it right).
b) You never gave any examples of how smoking a joint is different from drinking a legal beer, etc?

Thus your responses, although emotion laden, have no teeth to those of us that have completed relevant levels of academic and spiritual development.

It's 2008, "we peeps wake up dread. We ready fer action"

a) Did you realize that the human body is damaged more by vehicle exhausts, etc than second hand smoke?
b) So are you saying that other than second hand smoke, if people smoked in the privacy of their home, etc, that you'd support legislation to abolish jail sentences for marijuana use and sale?
c) You're probably joking, or are you suggesting that "law enforcement" officers can beat up suspects?
d) Wouldn't you admit that far too many young persons lives are wasted in jail on charges like possession and/or sale of marijuana? What would you do to help stem the exponential growth of young men in Bahamian jails?

If you have been paying attention to this forum, along with everyone else you would know exactly where I live.


Can't be the Bahamas because you don't seem to have a clue about how things are done here. Maybe you don't get out much. :) FYI, anything under a pound can be reduced to a possession charge. I know someone who pleaded guilty to having a pound of ganja and he paid a $2000 fine.

My argument wasn't simply what you stated. It was not only that young lives are destroyed, but that the investment of time and money (cops, prison, planes, etc) could be reinvested in the over the hill community (building youth centers, computers for schools).

I think some people/kids smoke cause they're bored and/or want to escape. But other people/kids smoke because they simply enjoy the experience.

Either way, it's not a reason to get guns, track them down, kick in their doors, lock them away, etc. Just seems like such a waste of resources (and trees :-)

Pot is different than alcohol. You can have a beer or two and not be intoxicated, one joint and you are high. This is a difference that demonstrates you cannot have public smoking of joints. Having said that, getting high in the privacy of your own home, that I dont have as much a problem with, assuming you cannot go out and drive somewhere and injure someone. I also support reduced penalties for marijuana use. Possession under a pound is a littlle much, a pound of pot is a large amount. How about reduced possession charges for less than an ounce.

Actually you raise some intersting points, but on one issue you are probably wrong.

Depending on the persons weight the alcohol can affect them quicker (weight). Further, I no of no scientific experiment, research or survey/study that proves that pot causes a greater impact than alcohol?

Re a pound of weed, to me, even if a Bahamian had a ton, it would mean they could lower the price, and there would be less crime, if it were not illegal.