By FRANCIS JOSEPH
Another late night sitting. Another long day.
The House of Representatives was debating the Miscellaneous Provisions (Alcohol, Cannabis, Dangerous Drugs, Gambling and Tobacco) Bill, 2026.
The sitting started at 10.30 am and ended just before 11 pm. It was passed 23 for, with ten against.
Attorney General John Jeremie SC did not take too long with his winding up, but he pointed out that “we have come with radical legislation.” During his winding up, he had cause to complain about the interruptions on the Opposite side. This caused Speaker of the House, Jagdeo Singh, to intervene and reprimand a member of the Opposition, who the Speaker said had sought protection when he was speaking in the Chamber.
In piloting the Bill, Jeremie said amendments would be brought to specifically include vaping and to require identification for the purchase of tobacco and alcohol, possession of cannabis, and entry into gambling establishments.
The bill amends the Registration of Clubs Act to prohiÂbit people under the age of 25 from becoming members of clubs, except where the club is primarily devoted to an athletic purpose. Gambling by people under 25 on club premises would also be prohibited.
The AG said the whole idea of the Bill was to protect minors and young adults, strengthening public health safeguards and ensurÂing penalties are commensurate with the seriousness of offenÂces.
Jeremie said the World Health Organisation documented 724,000 alcohol-related deaths from injuries, including road crashes, self-harm and interpersonal violence.
He added, “The highest proportion of alcoÂhol attributable deaths, 13%, occurred among people between the ages of 20 and 39 years of age.”
He said approximately 298,000 people died as a consequence of alcohol-related road crashes, with 156,000 of those deaths caused by someone else’s drinking.
On the issue of cannabis, Jeremie said it required a similarly careful but distinct analysis.
He recalled that Caricom established a Regional Commission on Marijuana in 2014 to examine the social, economic, health and legal implications of marijuana use and possible approaches to law reform.
The commission, he said, found that the average age of initiation into cannabis use in the Caribbean was approximately 13.
It warned that because the adolescent brain is undergoing critical development at that age, it is particularly susceptible to marijuana’s effects.
Jeremie said gambling presents a different category of danger because, while it does not involve consuming a substance, harmful gambling could have severe and lasting social consequences.
