In the shadows:Alan Gordon (in green shirt) leads a protest calling for more open access to marijuana for medical purposes outside the headquarters of Bermuda’s governing One Bermuda Alliance.

Bermuda’s Government’s says it is taking an “incremental” approach to liberalising cannabis laws which penalise use and simple possession with heavy fines and imprisonment.

It is set to legalise the use of Sativex and Marinol, two cannabinoids approved by the US FDA, for medical purposes.

And the Government plans to ease up on marijuana users by giving police officers more discretion in letting off first time offenders with a caution.

Liberalisation advocates on the island are unimpressed. They argue that a discretionary caution policy will not end racial profiling and discrimination against the island’s black majority, that the medical cannabis measures will do nothing for sick people who need to make their own cannabis potions and that Government has not identified any measures to boost prevention efforts or address the dangers of an illicit market.

The upcoming legalisation of “specific forms of cannabinoid drugs (cannabis containing products)” was announced by Governor George Fergusson in Friday’s Throne Speech ceremony signalling the start of a new legislative session.

Attorney General Trevor Moniz detailed the measure – and the Government’s overall approach – in a recent interview with Politica.

He said Government was aware of liberalising trends in other countries but Bermuda would follow cautiously.

“You don’t want to be the world’s capital for weed smoking,” he told us.

“Quite often people in the street think medical marijuana means smoking weed. Its not the same thing.”

Habitual smoking of marijuana could harm the brain and the body, he asserted.

Leaders of the cannabis liberalisation movement said the Government had failed to deliver on its promise of leadership on the issue and the measures do not go far enough.

Alan Gordon, Bermuda’s most vocal critic of the island’s cannabis policies, said Moniz’s comments about the harms of smoking cannabis were “off-base”.

“The latest research shows even that to be largely a myth. He doesn’t know what he is talking about, and he is off base, out of touch, behind the times, and out to lunch,” Gordon said in an emailed reaction.

“There are a number of medical situations in which smoking cannabis is actually advisable over other forms. Edible cannabis products like those suggested by the AttGen cause dosing problems (uncomfortable overdoses, e.g.) long delays between administration and effect, and un-natural paranoia that whole cannabis is less likely to cause.”

Gordon is a long time cannabis activist who works with cancer patients and claims that he has witnessed success with cannabis oil in reducing or eliminating cancerous tumours.

“Cannabis oil taken orally (or topically for skin cancer) is highly effective at shrinking tumours, prolonging life significantly, and in many cases, cannabis oil has utterly eradicated cancer (even late stage) from the body, to the point where it is no longer detectable.

“The strain I have personally witnessed working, in Bermudian patients, is called ‘Irie OG’, although many other strains work just fine. Lab studies suggest that non-psychoactive CBD-heavy oils will not work as well as THC-rich psychoactive strains, although psychoactivity can easily be blocked via over-the-counter supplements (such as citicoline).”

But under the new regime, his patients will have to continue being outlaws. About four percent of the island’s population have a form of cancer according to the latest census.

“It doesn’t impact me at all,” said one senior citizen with stage one bladder cancer, emphysema and asthma. He told us that he had managed to get a four day supply of cannabis oil “unofficially” but a subsequent shipment had been intercepted by the authorities.

“My appetite came back, my breathing improved and I felt my circulation in my body improve.”

He would not be named for this story because of the stigma and illegality associated with cannabis.

But the Throne Speech had given him cause for optimism about the future of cannabis liberalisation.

“I think its a matter of time. This is a big step for them. Its a big step for the medical profession. The world seems to be going natural and it seems to be out there in other forms.”

Marinol, a man-made form of cannabis, is used to treat nausea and vomiting caused by cancer medicines, and to address loss of appetite in AIDS patients.

Sativex is the first cannabis-derived drug to be approved for use in the UK. It is used to treat spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, but the number of MS sufferers in Bermuda is unknown.

Carolyn Armstrong, president of the 52-member MS Society said the group was pleased that MS patients had an additional treatment option but she added that cannabis based drugs “address a small number” of a wide range of MS symptoms.

“The MS Society of Bermuda has not heard of any specific cases where MS sufferers have benefitted from smoking cannabis.”

Stratton Hatfield, a leader of the Cannabis Reform Collective which conducted a four month consultative research study on cannabis policy and reform options, said the measures were too limited.

“It appears that the proposed legislation will not permit other methods of using the natural plant in tincture and oil forms for medicine. Unfortunately patients who choose to use the natural form of the plant, in whatever manner they choose, will do so illegally as they have done in the past, while their health concerns are not being addressed,” Hatfield said in emailed comments.

He added that he was concerned about the links between Government and Andrea Barthwell, a former US lobbyist for GW Pharmaceuticals which manufactures Sativex.

“Dr. Barthwell has been brought to Bermuda multiple times by the DNDC to advise the community on medical marijuana since 2010 and was last in Bermuda in February 2014,” Hatfield noted.

Barthwell’s February mission was to present on the “pharmacology of medical marijuana” to Bermuda’s doctors.

Hatfield continued:  “Implementing a caution policy and fixed penalty for first time offenders is a step in the right direction although it does not address areas such as production, distribution, quality control and the price. A pseudo decriminalization policy will allow the black market to thrive where a person of any age can purchase cannabis for an absurd price, not knowing where it has come from or what it contains.

“A cautioning policy for first time offenders will not address the underlying issues of racial profiling in our community, as black people will still be targeted and penalized if they are a second time offender.

“The Throne Speech did not identify plans to increase prevention efforts and inform the community of the consequences and benefits associated with cannabis use. All these topics were addressed in the CRC report and detailed recommendations were provided yet seem to have not been considered.”

Activist Michael Brangman who says he has found herbal cannabis useful in addressing anxiety and depression, shares Hatfield’s concerns.

He pointed out that the new policy has handed the medical cannabis market in Bermuda to GW Pharmaceutical and Bayer, and that MS patients on Sativex might incur costs of up to $10,000 a year.

Last month, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence declared that the price being charged by GW for Sativex was too high – meaning patients, and not the NHS, would have to pay for the treatment themselves.

“This shift in policy is a quarter-step in the right direction, but fails to address the medical need of thousands of Bermudians and fails to come in line with popular sentiment as shown by polls and surveys,” Brangman said.

Government did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

The 137-page CRC report notes that over the five year period ending in 2011, the rate of incarceration of locals for cannabis offences exceeded the annual birthrate. It also found that black people account for the vast majority of cannabis possession charges, while whites are less likely to be charged.

Black people account for 54 percent of the Bermudian adult population but more than 90 percent of the prison population.

CRC reform recommendations include the immediate decriminalisation of marijuana possession and cultivation for personal use, taking a health centred approach to dealing with substance use and using existing powers to allow immediate access to medical cannabis.

This article belongs to Politica ! The original article can be found here: Lukewarm reaction to Bermuda’s cannabis moves

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