Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean
Hennep plants found at home
On Tuesday, January 19th, a man with the initials W.B.G. of 60 years was arrested on Stefanotus Street for violation of the Opium Act BES. Pots with presumably hemp plants and hemp plants planted in the ground were found in the suspect’s yard. The plants were confiscated.
Under the Opium Act, it is prohibited to grow, prepare, process, sell, deliver, distribute or transport marijuana. You are also not allowed to manufacture or to have marijuana with you. Criminal investigation and prosecution in the context of the enforcement of the Opium Act is the responsibility of the judicial authorities and the police. In many cases, it is the police who, when suspected of a cannabis farm in a home, take action, dismantle the nursery and initiate criminal proceedings.
KPCN
It is about time that the legislation and regulations regarding cannabis will become in line with the Netherlands.
I hope not every Dutch policy will be adapted as ‘better’! Today the Dutch minister granted pardon to a killer of 6 people, among them a 12-year-old girl.
He served a life sentence in prison. To me, this means till death. And not giving this killer a new chance to pick up his terror business.
(Shortened by Editor)
This Is Way Off Base! Ugh….
Mr. Brown, people growing hemp plants have nothing to do with murder. You’re equating one thing with another, when they’re nothing to do with each other.
The fact is that Saba, and the other BES islands, are municipalities of the Netherlands, but are criminalized for something that is legal and normal in the European part of NL. Why do we continue to treat our people in the Caribbean Netherlands as criminals over cannabis, when in the European Netherlands they do not? It seems that the islands respect the great Netherlands for every other law, but not this.
Worldwide, countries are choosing to decriminalize and/or legalize cannabis, but here we continue to remain in the dark ages choosing to persecute our people over irrelevant crimes.
The Police could be using their time for more relevant things than this.
Spot On! Wow!
I Have been hearing this on Saba for Years!
Just Imagine..the tax dollars the government would be making on the islands!
(It has assisted many a state with it’s 30% high tax…so needed and used for the people’s betterment! As Well As the Country of Canada!)
I care less what others do, but I find this double standard I keep reading and hearing about is not Just OR Fair!
Canabis or hasj was widely used in the Netherlands during the 60-ties and 70-ties, in the rebellious subculture.
But nowadays stuff in the Netherlands is far more stronger, which means it has the characteristics of a hard drug. In the Netherlands this can also be seen by looking at the people using it. A large percentage is not sane (psychiatric disorders), and many do not work at all. In fact drugs are paid from welfare money. Furthermore workers in the building and installation branches use it during work hours with accidents as a consequence. Also heavy crime is involved in transport and dealing. In the Netherlands the bear is loose.
I know there is a medicinal effect, and that’s okay with me, but the rest you do not want over here.
My father lives in the Netherlands and I in Canada so I know very well the consequences of legalization. First about the strength of new strains: this notion is debated. A lot of the myths about 30% thc strains has more to do with growing conditions indoors vs when the plant is subject to wind, rain etc which deceases the resin content. Even if true, this is actually an argument for regulating the strength vs letting the black market decide. Secondly, the Netherlands has a lower per capita consumption of cannabis than many other countries where it is illegal. This may be due to it being viewed as a touristic thing to do, and the rebellious appeal is lost when it is legalized. Another point is that criminals make money off prohibition and that creates crime. There is little justification for criminalizing something generally viewed as safer by the medical community than alcohol. It is important to not treat all drugs as the same because then kids begin not trusting the logic behind the laws (I have seen this first hand in the US), and it becomes a gateway drug. Finally, anything can be abused, and a frequent consumer may become lazy, but maybe not. There plenty of successful people who consume it daily. Being an alcoholic is far worse on every level. That is obvious.