Decriminalization will NOT Stop Belize’s Marijuana Problems. Marginalized youths will continue to be marginalized. Families will continue to be broken as members of poor households continue to be incarcerated for illegally selling cannabis to middle and upper class consumers. There will continue to be violent trafficking of a plant that could be distributed as peacefully as corn were we to simply to LEGALIZE IT. Decriminalization does not increase (or even normalize) the economic opportunity for those in need, legalization (especially as detailed below) can.  It is therefore my position that Marijuana should not be decriminalized but legalized. The following is my urgent legalization proposal to the Government of Belize.

• Educate the Public and hold interactive public dialogue.  Much of what marijuana opponents believe is based on the falsehoods fabricated in the 1920’s to 1930’s scare campaigns. In particular, the public must be re-assured that : marijuana does not kill, marijuana consumption does not induce violence, marijuana has no known long term negative effect, to name a few. Until these myths (and any others for or against) are openly and honestly addressed, marijuana policy (regardless of what is eventually decided) will continue to be a deeply (and unnecessarily) polarizing issue. In the interest of developing mutual understanding, an open discussion is scheduled to commence here today, Monday July 23rd at 10:00am.
• Legalize Marijuana. The Government of Belize has spent millions imprisoning its own citizens based on misguided racist and corrupt laws it adopted from another country. Unless new acceptable, factual presentations are made for why an individual needs to be punished (in any way) for consuming this plant, the persecution of cannabis consumers and (non violent) producers needs to be stopped immediately.
• Expunge the records persons convicted of marijuana possession or trafficking, regardless of the quantity, provided that such persons were not also charged (convicted or not) with firearm possession, at, after or prior to being caught in possession of cannabis.   
• Designate 10 acres of arable crown land for marijuana cultivation per electoral division. 
• Allow residents of each division to apply for permits to farm cannabis in these designated locations, no more than 1 acre per individual. Permits to develop these plots should cost no more than $100 per acre per month and should be post payable every 5 months, or at harvest time. Individuals wishing to cultivate more than 1 acre must do so on registered title land and pay a fee of $1,000 per month. Applicants in lower income brackets should be given priority over applicants in higher income brackets in registering for free parcels.
• Require that each acre must employ no less than 10 persons in the growing and harvesting of the cannabis crop at no less than minimum wage. Farm hands may be enlisted from any electoral division but must possess Belizean nationality. This alone would ensure employment for 31,000 Belizeans or more per month. 
• Each farm must undergo spot inspections  in no more than 3 week intervals by no less than 2 member teams of the police department to deter unregulated harvesting & distribution.  No less than 2 police officers (or other civil servants as resources allow) must be present for the harvesting of any 1 acre parcel of cannabis farm. Both officers must sign off on the number of bushels registered, the weight and ID number of each.   
• Allow residents of each electoral division the opportunity to sign up as registered marijuana wholesalers. Wholesalers must pay $500 for each farm from which they purchase in a given cycle, regardless of the quantity purchased. Wholesalers make purchases by the bushel. The weight and id number of each bushel sold and the farm from which it was purchased should be added to a real-time public database.
• Allow residents of each electoral division to apply for permits to act as marijuana retailers. Retailer’s permits should carry a fee of no more than $100 per month. Retailers may purchase from wholesalers from any electoral division in any amount. Retailer purchases must also be recorded in real-time and entries must include the weight being purchased from each bushel along with the wholesaler ID number.
• Allow both residents and visitors to sign up for permits for the consumption of marijuana. Consumption permits must be processed efficiently (no more than half a day) so that not just residents but also overnight and cruise visitors will be able to purchase and consume marijuana legally and responsibly with positive impact on our tourism industry. Class 1 Consumer permits should allow the purchase of up to 30 grams in any 7 day period. Class 2 consumer permits allowing purchase of up to 60 grams in a 7 day period should require approval of an area representative and be granted only on the conditions that the applicant is gainfully employed, does not owe child support and that all school aged children of the applicant are enrolled in school and receiving passing averages. Application fees for consumer permits should be set at around $100 per year renewable annually. Lists of registered retailers should be made readily available to all registered consumers.
• All monies collected from residents of a division for permits of any type are paid directly into a joint, public account for community security projects such as the installation of CCTV cameras, patrols by security companies or paid members of the society, the upkeep of abandoned lots etc as decided by registered residents of the community. 
• Persons previously charged with marijuana possession should not be permitted to act as growers or wholesalers of marijuana but should be given priority as harvesters or retailers. 
• No person should be permitted to be simultaneously a grower, wholesaler or retailer. 
• Legally registered marijuana producers from the United States and elsewhere in the region should be invited to provide training for newly registered growers, in order to improve the quality of locally grown cannabis, and eliminate any demand for cross boarder smuggling. 
• No person under the age of 18 may obtain a marijuana permit of any kind. 
• Persons under the age of 18 caught in possession of marijuana (or testing positive for THC in spot test) will not be eligible for a permit of any type until the age of 21. If he or she is caught twice or if he or she tests positive for THC, his or her age of eligibility should be increased to 22. If he or she is caught three times or tests positive more than twice for THC, the age of eligibility should be raised to 23 and so on. If any person under the age of 18 is found in possession of marijuana or tests positive for THC in spot check, consumption & retail permits of all members of his or her household will be revoked for a period of 1 month, while growing and wholesaling permits should be revoked for 1 grow cycle or 5 months.
• Any youth may be recommended for mandatory spot drug testing by a Teacher, member of the clergy, or neighbor, not more than twice in any 6 month period if marijuana use is suspected. 
• If any grower, wholesaler or retailer is found to have supplied cannabis to any person of any age or nationality not in possession of the appropriate permit, the growing, wholesaling or retailing permit will be revoked and the person to whom the sale was made will be fined no less than $500 but no more than $50,000 with consideration of the quantity purchased.
•  If any member of any household is found in possession of an illegal firearm, all members of the household will have their permits (of any type) revoked for a period of no less than 3 years, in addition to whatever standard weapons possessions charges may be applied. 
• Allow registered members of the medical and dental association to prescribe marijuana treatments as appropriate. Allow prescription holders to purchase medical marijuana treatments (from drug store retailers only) without the requirement of a paid consumer permit. Until this is done, though marijuana has been proven successful myriad of health issues, Belizean physicians will continue to prescribe far more expensive pharmaceutical drugs with alarming and often deadly side effects over this simple, locally produce-able effective PLANT  with ZERO adverse side effects.
• Facilitate local entrepreneurs in the exploration and development of non consumption uses of the locally produced cannabis sativa plant such as the production of textiles, plastics etc.