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Marijuana and the Police

Aug 27, 2021 Editorial

Kaieteur News – We use a caption from a recent Sunday’s edition of this newspaper to make several points. The title was, “Police destroy marijuana farm in Berbice, armed men escape” (KN July 18). There is both the good and not-so-good with this police action, and on which we share our position, which is sure to raise some hackles if not in some segments of society, then at least in upper levels of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
The cultivation, production, sale, and use of marijuana in this country are all illegal activities. The fact that the GPF is going after what stands under our current laws as a criminal activity is a good thing. We say so unreservedly. Additionally, as our caption noted, there were armed men (most likely with unlicensed firearms) who beat a hasty retreat into the bushes, and from where they fired shots at members of the GPF (also illegal and unacceptable actions). So, what transpired was crime upon crime, several of them. Members of the GPF could have been seriously injured, even fatally so, in the lawful commission of their duties. This is wrong all over, and we make no bones about saying so.
In the next instance, there are those who take the position that marijuana use has medicinal value, and the entire apparatus of its use should be legalised. That is, from the time it is in the ground to harvesting and shipping and selling and partaking. Relative to this particular area, we reserve comment for another day, even as we acknowledge the growing volume of voices expressing thoughts along these lines. What we are focused on today is the work of the GPF with specific references to marijuana cultivation suppression and elimination, and the targeting and apprehending of those producing and those consuming the product.
We have presented our thinking on the actions of the GPF re. marijuana matters. But we must ask this question: is this really the best use of the limited resources, human and financial and strategic and other resources of the GPF? To be frank, we do not think so, and this is even as we recognise that violations of the law are occurring. We would hope that the response from the top tiers of the GPF would not be damned if it is done, and damned when nothing is done, since this is not where we are going at all.
The places where we are going speak for themselves. This society is plagued by crime; or, at least, there is the perception of such a plague, and the fears that accompany it. Citizens are robbed almost at will in the vicinity of the bus parks located in one the most congested areas in the capital city. In broad daylight, before the presence of onlookers, and with a known police presence nearby, commuters and shoppers are waylaid, assaulted, and violently separated from their property. The same also applies around stores and banks. Home invasions are a constant threat, and domestic violence is never far from the next harrowing headline reporting numbing brutality. The latest is that rapes are up 70 percent, and this is for mainly children under 16 years old. Traffic is a daily nightmare with little in the manner of road discipline or orderliness or even basic courtesy.
Still further, with the advent of more business activity and sometimes large sums of money at work, white collar crimes are also on the rise. Impersonation and fraud and Ponzi schemes are too frequent for comfort, while there are ongoing concerns about severe public service corruptions involving an endless brigade of bureaucrats and citizens. By now, a picture should be emerging and registering on Guyanese who already know so, as well as to those who didn’t care and didn’t want to know, unless they find themselves on the wrong end of a gun or a deal gone sour.
Because of all this, we at this publication think that it is commonsense for GPF seniors to utilise better the limited resources available, to make a difference in these areas and on crimes closer to home to countless citizens. Curtailing of illegal marijuana activities is important, but there are others that should be prioritised higher.

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