Archive for November 13th, 2013
Local campaign launched to legalize medicinal ganja
(CNS): Although the use of ganja as a medicine and in some cases personal use is being sanctioned in an increasing number of states across the US, here in Cayman the mere consumption of the plant is illegal and can land a person in jail even if it is being used to manage a serious medical condition. However, one very law abiding citizen, who said he has never smoked or even touched cannabis, has begun a campaign to promote the idea of legalizing its use here for medical purposes. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests ganja is not only helpful in managing a number of debilitating medical conditions but that it may actually cure a variety of serious health problems, including cancer.
Prominent local architect Burns Conolly has launched a new Facebook page called Cannabis Cayman that is aimed at raising awareness about the evidence that shows cannabis has incredible medicinal properties and to begin the debate here about legalizing its use for medical purposes. Conolly told CNS that he is not promoting the recreational use of the drug but said that the near miracle results in some cases makes it obvious that the health community can no longer ignore this plant.
“I became aware of the true potential of cannabis as a medicine after watching Dr. Gupta’s documentary on CNN entitled WEED,” he said, adding that it drove him on to do his own research.
The documentary is an eye opener for anyone who doubts the power of this plant and Conolly urges everyone to watch it.
“I was surprised not only by the anecdotal stories of miracles occurring but the actual amount of real scientific research that had been carried out on this plant. Over 28 states in America now have some form of legality on the plant, including Colorado and Washington states, where it is completely legal. Countries such as Israel have been doing research for over 40 years and now dispense it in their hospitals and homes for the elderly.”
Conolly has discovered something that many people have been saying for years: that there are almost unlimited benefits to this natural growing plant. It is much less harmful that the chemical compounds fed to many by pharmaceutical companies that can have terrible side-affects and limited efficacy in serious health conditions such as cancer, AIDS, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
“The more I looked the more I was convinced of its potential in curing or mitigating diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epileptic seizures, chronic pain, glaucoma and, of course, cancer,” Connolly told CNS. “I really believe the time has come for a serious look at the medicinal powers of cannabis and to save many of our folks who are being lost to these diseases.”
More than ten years ago the United States government took out a patent on the cannabinoids found in the plant, knowing full well that its day would come again. The plant has a long history of medicinal use. It was not until the politicization of its use in the early part of the 20th century and ultimately its classification as a schedule 1 drug, which in law means that it has no benefits at all, that it became public enemy number one in the US, which then influenced its use and categorization worldwide.
There is now hope, however, that as the US begins to accept the medical benefits the rest of the world will be influenced again by what that government does. If the Federal government moves on the re-classification of medical marijuana, the barriers for other countries to do more research and re-address its use will come down.
Conolly said the trend is moving in a positive direction for the plant and even here in our region the Prime Minister St. Vincent Dr Ralph Gonsalves has asked CARICOM to begin debating its medicinal use.
“The world is now seeing the benefits of this important plant and clearly there is a rising tide that will see its use normalized within a few years,” he said. “Given that every 19 minutes in the USA someone dies from a prescription drug overdose, over 25,000 per year from alcohol, over 400,000 per year from tobacco and zero from cannabis, clearly something is wrong to have this plant and its medicinal properties illegal.”
Conolly said he was not suggesting that ganja should be legalized for recreational use or “for folks simply to get ‘high’ on it”, and noted that there were some concerns about the possible impact on younger people smoking cannabis because of the THC, which causes the high. However, Conolly pointed out that cannabis contains two main ingredients and CDB is equally important and both elements work miracles against a host of diseases by interacting with our body’s endocannabinoid system.
“I started the Facebook page 'Cannabis Cayman' to begin the local discussion on legalizing the medicinal use of this plant. For the record I have never smoked or even touched cannabis and do not plan to unless I come down with cancer,” he said. “Then I think its oil extract will do a lot more for me than destroying my body with chemo and radiation.”
The Facebook page has attracted over 100 likes and is packed full of links and information about incredible stories relating to the plant and its growing proven, benefits.
The move to get ganja re-categorized in Cayman will required political support, however, and so far the only former or would-be politician brave enough to suggest its decriminalization is Dr Frank McField, and even he was reluctant to promote his position during the recent election campaign.
Vote in CNS Poll: Should-ganja-be-legalized-medical-purposes ?
Police aim to help Cayman drive more safely
(CNS): With the RCIPS recording over 4,390 traffic offences between January and September this year, a 12% increase on 2012, as well as almost 900 accidents, the police, in conjunction with Streetskill and the Cayman Islands Motorsports Association, are organising a special safety drive this month to highlight the potential dangers of the road and how to keep safe. The fun family event will include interactive exhibits, including impairment goggles (alcohol simulation eye-glasses), as well as driving skills demonstrations and a more serious element marking the passing of those killed on Cayman’s roads. 'DRIVE CAYMAN – Safety Skill Family' is a free event, with food and entertainment, focusing on keeping the roads safe.
It is planned for Sunday 24 November on Huldah Avenue, George Town, between the Cricket Pitch and Credit Union from 1:00pm.
Chief Inspector Angelique Howell, representing the Streetskill Committee, is encouraging as many people as possible to come out to the event.
“It promises to be a great combination of fun and learning for all ages,” she said. “The committee members are all very excited about DRIVE CAYMAN. We hope that it will have a huge impact on how people behave on the roads and that everyone will go away having learned something new that day. Of course, our priorityis to ensure that people go away with one main thought in their mind – and that’s that they all have a significant part to play in making Cayman’s roads safe.”
Organisers are looking for more people to become involved in making the event a success. Plans are being finalised to showcase classic and vintage cars and motorcycles, and owners that want to participate are asked to email the DRIVE CAYMAN team on roadsafety@gov.ky to register.
A memorial wall will also be unveiled at the event to those who have lost their lives on Cayman’s roads and organisers are appealing to anyone who has been affected by a fatal road crash and is willing to talk about their experiences on video to contact them this week.
For more information visit us on Facebook. To get involved email us at roadsafety@gov.ky.
Kidnapper makes own appeal to cut jail time
(CNS): Charles Webster, who was convicted in April 2011 along with three other men of kidnapping Tyson Tatum in Cayman’s first major abduction for ransom, made an appeal Tuesday for the higher court to cut his ten year sentence. Webster, who was unrepresented, made his own written submissions asking for a reduction as he said he was not a major player in the crime. He submitted that the mastermind behind the kidnapping, Richard Hurlstone, had never served any time, despite being given 15 years for his part in the crime as the authorities let him abscond while he was on bail. He also argued that Wespie Mullins, another architect of the kidnapping plot, had only been given a five year sentence for his part and was now free because he had cooperated in order to get less jail time.
Formally of good character and despite, as he described it, being dragged into the plot at the last minute, Webster was handed a ten year sentence. This was because the judge had considered the kidnapping of significant concern to the wider community and had to impose adeterrent to prevent any possible repeat of this type of crime in the Cayman Islands.
In his own words, Webster asked for the appeal court to cut his sentence by even just one year as he said it was not fair that the two masterminds were “on the road” while he was still in jail, having come to Cayman from Honduras for what he was told was a construction job.
Webster, along with Allan Kelly, who also received a ten year sentence following trial, was part of a gang, which kidnapped Tatum for ransom and held him against his will at a house in North Side as the gang attempted to extort money from the victim’s family. However, the plot was foiled in just over a day when, despite being bound, gagged and tied to a chair, Tatum was left unattended by his captors and was able to escape.
Arguing that the sentence was not excessive and if anything it could be described as lenient given the seriousness of the crime, crown counsel defended Justice Charles Quin’s sentence during the appeal hearing. The government lawyer said that Mullins was handed a lower sentence because he had not only pleaded guilty but he had cooperated with the police and given evidence at trial about what had happened.
The appeal court panel, who had given Webster the chance to speak in his defence despite his lack of legal counsel, told the appellant that they would consider his submission and deliver their ruling on Wednesday.
The court heard several other appeals Tuesday, including that of Rabe Welcome, who was appealing both his wounding conviction and the six month sentence.
Eric Adam was convicted of stealing just under $30,000 from the bank where he worked and was sentenced to 2.5 years for theft and false accounting but is now out of prison. He also appealed his conviction and argued against a compensation order imposed on him to pay back the stolen loot.
The appeal court also heard from Matio Dinall, who was appealing his fifteen year sentence for possession of an unlicensed firearm in relation to the gang related shooting in 2005, when he fired a pistol at a house in Bodden Town. Both Adam and Dinall’s cases are expected to be ruled on tomorrow, while Welcome will learn his fate next week.
Another PA breaks FOI law
(CNS): Less than two months before stepping down from her post as Cayman’s first information commissioner, Jennifer Dilbert issued her 36th decision Tuesday, in which she ordered a government department to release a withheld document and comply with other elements of the law. She also found many procedural issues where the public authority had breached FOI legislation. She pointed to “appalling record keeping” by the Department of Labour and Pensions, the government entity concerned, and raised concerns about the perception in this case that the authority was deliberately hiding a document. Although she said there was no direct evidence in this case, she warned that her office would seek to prosecute any public authority if it acquired such evidence.
In this case a document from the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions was withheld by the Department of Labour and Pensions from an applicant, even though it related directly to the applicant’s complaint about a breach of employment law by their boss. During the course of the appeal hearing Dilbert found “extremely poor record keeping” and as a result ordered the government entity to address that issue, as is required under 52(1) of the law.
The hearing came about following an FOI request by a member of the public regarding all of the documents held by government departments relating to a complaint they had made about the non-payment of overtime benefits by their employer. Although documents were released, the applicant pressed the issue as they believed more documents existed. As a result an internal review was requested but it was not completed in the time required under the law and the applicant sough the intervention of the commissioner, who began an appeal hearing.
In her ruling Dilbert said that the Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs contends that an Internal Review was completed on 9 April this year, but despite several requests from her office during the appeal, neither the ICO nor the applicant has been provided with a completed Internal Review. And even if they could claim it was completed it was still a week late, she noted.
During the course of the appeal other procedural issues were also identified, not least the fact that documents were missing.
“During the ICO’s pre-hearing investigation, further records were provided to the applicant, but the Applicant maintained that it could be seen from the records provided that additional records, in particular correspondence from the Director of Public Prosecutions concerning the case, must exist,” she wrote.
On 25 June the ICO requested the DLP provide an affidavit explaining why a record discussed in emails didn’t appear to exist or couldn’t be found. Several weeks later the employment ministry provided the ICO with an affidavit and a copy of the record from the director of public prosecutions, which related to the applicant’s case and was a relevant record which, the ministry claimed, had not come into the department of labour’s possession until 10 July this year, despite being dated 2011.
The ministry then refused to release the record under the exemption in the FOI law relating to legal privilege.
“It is surprising and not acceptable that this record could not be located during the entire life of the request and appeal, and was found only when the public authority was required to provide the ICO with an affidavit attesting to the fact that all responsive records relating to the applicant’s request had been provided to the applicant or the ICO,” Dilbert writes in her ruling.
“At best, this is an example of extremely poor record keeping on the part of the DLP at the time, which is disturbing as the Department has a key function in respect of safeguarding employment rights in the Cayman Islands. At worst, the inability of the DLP to locate this record could be perceived as an attempt to conceal it, either at this time or in the past,” she warned . “This important record should have been on the case file at the DLP, and it remains unexplained why it was not.”
Examining the claim by the labour department that the record was exempt, Dilbert disagreed as she said that there was no argument put forward by the authority why the document was exempt just because it came from government lawyers. She said the authority did not demonstrate why the subject matter of the advice, or the circumstances in which it was sought and rendered represented a solicitor-client relationship. Dilbert said the authority failed to show the communication occurred within a relevant legal context for legal professional privilege to attach to the record.
See the information commissioner’s decision below or visit the website here.