Outspoken clergyman Bishop Simeon Hall touted the medical benefits of marijuana and although he is not trying to rush the consultation process, he said proper decriminalization and proper regularization must take place. 

Bishop Hall’s comments came as he spoke to a group of pastors recently in Grand Bahama.

“If this herb can help us, then we should move forward in that direction. The challenges are human beings corrupt everything they touch,” he said, adding that if something can be done to assist sick people who can’t afford healthcare, then more should be done.

“The purist of situations, like in the Garden of Eden where they had no work, they had no labour or nothing, but they messed it up.

“Human beings have a propensity to destroy things that are pure. So how will we regulate this? How will we not abuse it?

“How will we stop those young men and women who want it just for recreational challenges?

“Those are all impediments we will face, but at the same time can we help the woman who is dying of cancer today?”    

In addition, Bishop Hall, who is also a member of the Marijuana Commission, informed the pastors of the benefits of decriminalizing the herb and noted that they were receptive.

“The first pastor to speak stood up and said, ‘I am for medicinal marijuana and that set the pace,’” he said. 

“We had one person, who had some reservation, but in the end himself, they all came around and said, ‘Look, let’s move forward not hastily, with caution but also, let’s move forward with regularization and decriminalization.’ How are we going to regularize this?” 

Bahamians, Bishop Hall pointed out, are not good at regularizing because policies are set but not followed through.

He asserted though that this cannot be another forum where Bahamians are exploited by foreign entities.

Cabinet approved the formation of the committee in July 2018 after recommendations by the Regional Commission on marijuana. 

In May, Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said the commission was given a three month extension to examine the issue of marijuana in The Bahamas and make recommendations to Cabinet.