The Belize Minister of Home Affairs and member of the House of Representatives, Kareem Musa, spoke recently about the positives the country would experience from a legal cannabis industry. 

“The consumer sees this (cannabis) as a relief. The small farmers, the investor, the businessman, they see this as a profit. The government sees this as only practical given the circumstances that we now face where we have something that is decriminalized but you have no way of obtaining it,” Hon. Musa said. 

Current Laws

In Belize right now, a person can possess up to 10 grams of cannabis without penalty. But over 30 percent of the population uses cannabis on a daily basis for their own personal reasons, according to Hon. Musa. With an increased demand for cannabis and sometimes in large quantities, there is a large black market and trade going on. Smugglers bring cannabis back from Mexico, where cannabis is now decriminalized and on its way to legalization. 

This smuggling of cannabis has led to gang wars and violence in the capitol Belize City. Still, the country hasn’t taken any measure to either further decriminalize cannabis or find a way to end the gang violence. Hon. Musa says the Government of Belize (GOB) is ignoring the problem. Instead of ignoring, he thinks the GOB should find a way to benefit the people who chose to use cannabis. 

“It’s just about putting in the proper formula that will see the small man benefit because they currently are the ones that are in charge of the market…and of course that it is regulated to ensure that the government gets its fair share in tax revenue from the industry,” Hon. Musa added.

Changes

It’s not just about decriminalizing cannabis further; it’s also about improving the lives of citizens in the country. Belize is still a developing country, in its infancy. Only recently did the country gain independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981. It has a population of just over 400,000 people and over one thousand incarcerated for various crimes. Almost three percent of the entire population of Belize finds themselves in prison. 

Compare the incarceration rates to the U.S., which currently has around 419 people per 100,000 incarcerated. This creates less than 0.05 percent of people incarcerated. It’s hard to determine the exact percentage of incarcerated individuals accused of cannabis possession and consumption. However, the Belize rate remains incredibly high compared to other countries. 

Yet Hon. Musa is asking for a change. This could help the prison population, with only one central prison system in Belize, located in Hattieville. The prison is run by the Kolbe Foundation, a non-profit organization. It has been since 2002, which has significantly helped reform prisoners and integrate them back into society. Hon. Musa wants to remove any cannabis prisoners from the system. He argues it’s not something they should be locked up for. 

Should the GOB make any changes to the country’s decriminalization or legalization efforts, we will update you with the latest.

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