Dear Editor,
I just could not resist commenting on Dr. Jerry Jailall’s most recent letter to the Editor, wherein was expressed perhaps all the oft-repeated but today discredited myths about marijuana. Not a single point cited a medical position that holds validity today. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when such opinion (SN, 13 Nov 2022) gratuitously derides an important group of Guyanese citizens – wholly unwarranted at that – and takes a ‘below the belt’ swipe at the current Government in so doing, such opinion must be exposed for the untrammeled bigotry it really represents.
Dr. Jailall’s opinions matter and can be useful sometimes – but certainly not this time, I’m afraid. His country of choice conveniently prohibited marijuana in 1937, but with the precipitating circumstances a non-issue for decades, extensive research conducted and all matters of convenience weighted, the USA has legalized or alternatively decriminalized marijuana in most of its States. Perhaps Dr. Jailall might consider returning to the land of his birth where he can enjoy a country still criminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The Government of Guyana reviewed the research available and analyzed trends worldwide – fully aware why the USA started prohibition in the first place whilst also cognizant of the fact that the USA is today the world’s leading producer of marijuana and it’s value-added products. The Attorney-General weighed up all factors,…
