Cops arrest five young men for smoking ganja
(CNS): Three teenagers and two young men in their early 20’s were arrested on Monday and Tuesday for smoking ganja in George Town. The police arrested the five youngsters in two separate instances at a location along Walkers Road, between East Boulevard and Moxam Road, because of “public concerns about drug use in the area”. On Monday, officers came upon a group of young people behind an older building. Police said they were “behaving suspiciously” and were searched under the Misuse of Drugs Law. One spliff and a portion of suspected ganja on one of them were recovered.
All three of the young people, who are from George Town, aged 18, 21, and 22, were arrested on suspicion of possession and consumption of ganja and bailed.
Police returned to the same spot on Tuesday and arrested another two teenage boys, aged 16 and 18, also on suspicion of possession and consumption of ganja. The RCIPS did not say what quantities were recovered from the youngsters, but they were both granted bail.
Category: Local News
Dear RCIPs, Cocaine? What about Cocaine? You always after the little ganja users … Why? is it because the “big dogs” like lawyers and politicians use cocaine? and you dont want to get caught up busting them? You can never hear about no BIG cocaine bust. Only hear about LARGE quantities washing up! GET it together …. Cocaine is far worst than Ganja!
Cokeheads are sneakier than the ganja boys.
I agree, why cant the majority of people who will not amount to anything realize that their life on earth will suck forever and just be sober about it. Bow down to the Man, yes suh.
I support locking up all young men who openly commit crimes. They are almost certainly involved in other clandestine criminality and using every opportunity to keep them from the good members of society should be applauded.
I agree it should be legalized however until it is, the youth are screwing themselves and their futures. They don’t ‘have’ to smoke ganja and screw up their futures, they choose to. And many do so because of those they idolize around the island and pop culture. Why point the finger at RCIP for doing their job when people lament regularly about the incompetence of the public sector? Point the finger where the blame is appropriate- the parents of the underaged and the young adults themselves. The attack on the police is just misdirected frustration and anger.
I prove this wrong every day. You are so wrong. I have been burning for 10+ years…never feel even curious to try anything else ever yet. Been in the same job for 10 years also. Very respected aswell I may add. Enjoy being wrong
By this logic cigarettes and alcohol should be illegal too
No, that is exactly what not to do. Barbed wire fences between good people and young criminal men is good for the morals upright in society.
Why is it that you people cannot function a day without filling your bodies with illegal drugs????
It DOES mess up your head!! You are not capable of driving, or doing an honest days work while this weed, or any other drug is in your system. It makes you paranoid and you will move on to other serious drugs. Why can’t you all live a normal life. It goes to show that you are NOT capable. Man up the lot of you!! Get your lazy backsides out of bed and do an honest days work and bring up your children to do the same. Teach them good values and right from wrong so that they won’t end up in Northward. Make them proud of their parents.
Our barely operable RCIPS are not in charge of legislation, or their regulations.
Clearly you aren’t a scientist if you assume burning all plant material to be harmless. It depends on the plant. Burn some manchineel or oleander or azalea, and the smoke will literally blind you.
Not on Walker’s Road. There’s no public smoking allowed…and they, and everyone else knows that.
The harder you work the more stress relief tools you need anyway. The ‘healthy legal approved’ tools take a lot of time that a hard worker does not usually have. So you have a demand being met with insufficient supply. Into this gap can step alcohol, which is addictive, poisonous, capable of overdose, affects every cell in your body, impairs judgment, distorts behaviour, causes violence, arguments, drains your wallet, dramatically increases your risk of cancer and other major diseases, and generally hurts the quality of your life and everyone who you come into contact with, OR cannabis, which scores far better on all of those measures, some of which don’t apply to it at all. The most corrosive daily and short-term effects of alcohol are completely avoided with cannabis, as are the long-term health consequences. We may not have all the science (in large part because research has been prohibited for decades) but we have enough to know that for the same purpose (relaxing, greasing social interactions, perceived relief of pain, anxiety, stress and other symptoms of medical conditions and daily life), cannabis is FAR SUPERIOR. It is a fact that some who smoke are lazy but more often than not the laziness was already there and the cannabis just removes the last bit of drive to be productive that the lazy person has. A productive person who chooses to gain the benefits of cannabis consumption, especially in place of alcohol, remains a productive person.
Well I can’t believe the cops that made these arrests were in the Drugs Unit. if they were they should be embarrassed. As the post above says why not concentrate on dealers of hard drugs not kids taking soft drugs?
If you can get to be an MLA after selling coke to an undercover police office or assaulting your girlfriend, not sure you can say that a ganga possession will ruin their lives.
After school spliff? Only one of them was under 18. The rest are adults – they knew what they were doing is illegal, they knew what the consequences would be if they were caught, and they did it anyway. When you are a grown up you get to make choices, some of which have serious consequences. Whether you agree with it or not, consumption here is against the law, and these young men knowingly broke the law. By your argument we should waive the offence based on the consequences with complete disregard to the fact that the law has been broken. What next – you are going to say young guys caught for petty theft should also be let off because criminalisation will unfairly affect their future? Where do you draw the line?
Facts it all with the system to destroy the young youth life
Shut the hell up you need be lock in a cage yourself
You do know that police officers can be asked to provide a specimen at any time?
I guess you had to be there to comprehend.
Want to grow your personal supply? Limited amount of plants per grower for personal use.
Want to enter business and sell? Tax sales that funds the regulation of sales and compliance for large-scale growing, just like alcohol and tobacco.
Or, we can keep arresting our youth for a spliff for perpetuity while the drug lords reaps all of the profits.
Sure, let’s spend tens of thousands KYD to lock up a yute for a year over a spliff, then hinder their chances at honest employment by giving them a conviction – where do they turn then? They weren’t robbing or raping anyone, just holding a vibe in a safer manner than those who hold a vibe at the bar then DUI home.
You never hear about a stoned man beating his wife, but I can give you a long, long list of drunken assaults!
If wearing striped clothing was illegal, you bet most of society would be lax with that law because of how stupid and unnecessary it is.
Good to lock these miscreants up. Their lax attitude to the law usually is consistent with wider criminality and the good honest people in society as best protected by them being locked away.
decriminalise and bring in a heavy fine system then…
You miss the point. They need to be locked up so society can get on without worrying about the criminal underclass.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/cannabis-decriminalisation-marijuana-review-royal-college-of-psychiatrists-mental-health-a8576631.html
It’s worth noting that the Royal College of Psychiatrists has stated this week that they are reviewing this, as many of their membership now believe that legalising cannabis will ensure that with a regulated environment people know what they are getting. There is limited evidence that it can “kill brains”, certainly it is no more harmful than alcohol or a range of prescription drugs that are widely used in Cayman. The vast majority of users take cannabis responsibly, the same as alcohol, the fact that there are a few drunks who abuse alcohol daily doesn’t mean it should be illegal to have a glass or two of wine after work on a Friday, the same should be true of cannabis.
Canada, Jamaica and a number of US States have recognized this. Cayman will catch up eventually but in the meantime it’s easy work for the police to make criminals out of youths for such a minor thing.
Can’t have a police force without crime….
It is also used to target individuals in the work place so that their contracts are not renewed and it is a convenient tool in toxic religious-proud environments for blackmail.
There was a bloke at my work place who’s contract was not renewed and they would not tell him why. His performance was excellent, but apparently somebody tattled on him. Funny thing is that those in power were pot-smokers also so it was just a political con-job to open up his position for friends of those in power to feather the nest. Quite a convoluted lot of colleagues and yes, I am applying elsewhere before the same trash politics happens to me.
The young men who are going thru their steps will now be given a record for their after school spliff, loose the chance for a US visa for college or otherwise, have a hard time getting a job with a record that haunts them for the rest of their life, meanwhile surrounding neighbor countries are either decriminalizing or legalizing it. Get with the times Cayman!
The members of the RCIPS are employed to enforce Laws that are on the books, it’s the Politicians that make these stupid Laws and they’re the ones that need to change them. So don’t blam the popos!!!
There’s a certain amount of truth in that. But the police have limited resources, shouldn’t they be concentrating on burglaries, armed robberies, corruption, speeding on the roads? Even with drugs – how about focusing on a cocaine dealer or a heroin dealer? These boys are easy pickings for the police. Don’t forget that in Cayman (unlike the UK or most countries) ‘consumption’ of ganja is a crime in itself, so they take a urine test and will charge them with that too (cannabis stays in the system for weeks, so again – easy for the police). Think of the cost in police salaries, the pay to the scientists who examine the samples, the salaries of the prosecutors, the court time and cost (in an already over-packed judicial system). And all because these kids took a puff from an ‘illegal’ plant that grows quite freely in our climate and is relatively harmless. The police should have thrown the weed down the drain, sent the boys home to get on with their homework and concentrated on some real problems in our society.
I see what you’re saying, but different units focus on different things
I bet the same officers who dealt with these kids will go back “a yard” and use their own ganja to feel good while our youths of Cayman get the book thrown at them just for using Jamaicas national plant.
It’s legal for medical and therapeutic purposes.
Ask your doctor for a #prescription to #medical #cannabis
Jamaica it’s discriminated meanwhile the Jamaican cops are locking up our young Caymanian men!
Cayman get up to time because no one cares about your laws every law is illegal
Surely you must not mean “discriminated”? I think the word you’re looking for is decriminalized.
I still think the award for the most epic waste of resources in this category goes to (quoting the 2011 CNS article below) “…full scale police operation involving the helicopter, marine vessels, canine units, drug task force, special constables and regular officers netted just two teenagers for smoking ganja at Rum Point…” That was a classic. ????
http://archive.caymannewsservice.com/2011/08/22/full-scale-police-op-nets-teen-ganja-smokers/
Ruin the kids life for nothing. Good job RCIPS creating more future criminals.
Lock them up!! Keep them from breaking into your house ????
That’s more likely crackheads
to eat all your snacks!!
Old enough to buy any amount of alcohol they want and no one would bat an eye, but use a little bit of herb and it’s a crime.
Not the 16 y/o…
NEWS ALERT: The smell of ganja wont hurt anyone. If you old soon to be dead people that were in the Regan Era, smell the punjent scent of ganja. Dont worry, your soul will not leave your body. The world will not end. Now if you see coke. Call the police. If you see heroin. Call the police but leave lil ol ganja alone. Unless, the ganja smokers are hostile and making noise then file a noise complaint
Sooo everyone is against arresting a person fron smoking ganja.You dont hear anything about COKE tho? More youngsters are snorting that but no one is arrested??
I know a few of my bosses are snorting but if I say so it’s my job. I bet coke runs like water in some high echelon management circles, but these are the big boys that have power and influence to deflect the law. These youths were sitting ducks and if the police knew they were from big families this would be swept under the rug and certainly not make the news. We all know about the multiple standards here don’t we?
Alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana and you can now get it on any street corner. We need to adopt the policy of our Mother Country and decriminalize marijuana for personal use. We always refer to their Laws, then pls look into this one and stop wasting public funds and Court time on cases such as this.
Why?? Its a plant. Before you respond, are you a scientist??
police farce at their ineffective best again…….zzzzzzzzzz
if you ever want to know why the police are a waste of time…read this.
Seriously!? Don’t we have better things for our police force to do? Verbal warning and send them on their way.
The funny thing is that Police have the right to use their discretion. The problem is that the Police that work for theses islands do not care about the Cayman youth. They will lock all of them up because that’s no competition for them. They want to take over and the best way is to discredit and make criminals out of the locals.
Pretty soon we will not have young persons that will be able to run for politics due to the petty marijuana charges they get when young. If we do not do something about this soon, these islands will be snatched up right from underneath us and we’re not far from it.
Caymanian policemen would approach ‘crimes’ like this much differently, that’s true. The worst officer who could catch you smoking is one from elsewhere in the Caribbean. They always come here for more money which often means they have a huge chip on their shoulders, they want to advance, and they completely ignore the social consequences of the way they enforce the law in order to do that. They would rather march some teenagers into the station than warn them sternly and trust that they got the message and in doing so, protect their futures.
When we eventually legalise/decriminalise cannabis, anyone convicted of simple consumption or possession should have that wiped from their record, and by law not be required to disclose that to a prospective employer or anyone else, no matter the circumstances. Any community that penalises cannabis use will have to face the shame of all those years of wrong-headed prohibition, and that includes us.
We should not have the police deciding which law is to be enforced. Why can’t we change this stupid law?, you certainly would not get arrested in the UK for this. In the mean time 5 boys life ruined probably forever with a police record…
Any chance personal responsibility and consequences should factor in at some point? I’m all for legalizing it… but until then the youth control their destiny. “Thug life is no life l”needs to be the message.
thug life is no life? What are you talking about. They were smoking ganja, not robbing a bank. Carl Sagan used to smoke ganja, was he a thug too? I swear some ppl talk solely for the sake of talking without actually thinking before they do.
why do you automatically assume smoking weed makes them a thug? or want to have thug life?
I know doctors, lawyers, bankers, scholars, contributing members of society, who have all dabbled (some to this day) in weed, whether they smoked it, ate it or drank tea.
Its stupid that they can buy liquor but not be able to consume a plant. And all the science in the world says that weed ain’t all that bad, so please give the people a break.
this is so sad poor young men marked now because of a small amount of ganja the smoked!! haven’t the police got real criminals to catch on our island !!
That is the beauty of gak. No smell.
Yet, we just started to flying to Denver…
“Colorado pot sales hit a record $1.5 billion in 2017”
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/10/colorado-pot-sales-2017-border-towns/
Meanwhile; 7 days until the ENTIRE country of Canada legalizes marijuana to combat organized crime and protect the country’s youth. Smh.
You commentors have to understand. I am terrible at my job, but I can always find a pot-smoker where at work to blame all my problems on them. Think about all the malicious and vindictive actions you will stop at work because I wont be able to demonize my colleagues. People are so selfish these days.
Don’t allow the few people who waste their lives at the bar 24/7 to make you generalize and look at a woman having a glass of wine and see her as a drunkard who can’t do anything in life.
I know many professional Caymanians who partake and have their lives together.
It’s amazing how people would codone the indiscriminate use of ganja by our youths, when the research is clear that it kills their brains.
It is also evident that it makes people LAZY and Unproductive, experience talking. Is this the next generation all of you want to raise? I don’t think the police are going on a witch, I mean weed hunt, but trying to protect these youths from themselves.
All of you who are condoning them destroying themselves may want to come together and help them to do more constructive things in life.
If not let the police do there jobs and hope the system will have rehabilitation programs for them.
Pls do not make such a statement. I know many individuals from lawyers to street cleaners who smoke marijuana and you can’t find any person that works harder than them. It’s a fact that some persons that smoke are lazy but pls refrain from blanketing them all the same.
no different than alcohol, addictive prescription drugs, bad food etc. Everything in moderation…..
I partook all throughout university.. Graduated with honors. Are we talking about the same plant? Still would today if I could, but I have a great job.
Unlike cannabis, you can (very easily) overdose on alcohol, and if you saw the viral video of the fight on west bay road a few weeks ago, you could see how drunkenly zombified the guy was.
Should we also ban alcohol too and allow a black market to flourish?
dummy .. i smoke weed and go to work everyday and have a very good position. respected by my piers … so go f/o
With all the real crime and corruption….this is what Police are spending their resorces on? Arresting five young people for one spliff?….That’s so heavy handed!
Jesus. What a great use of all of their time. Cops wasting time on pot smokers and these young men wasting time not getting jobs or going to school because they would rather be lazy and get high. What time was this at?
I’m for legalization just as I’m for alcohol use. If you’re doing it by a building and acting shady then your intentions are probably not that of the law abiding, contributing to society kind.
Ahh the burning bush, I am also familiar with it.
Now give them a criminal record and watch their lives spiral out of control. Sad!!!
Word of advice to the youngsters; Only travel with what you intend to smoke that day and if possible smoke your spliff by the waters edge (preferably with an offshore breeze) so it can easily be disposed of.
So litter? Is that what you do with your munchie wrappers after you finish? Throw in the sea?
Yah I’m sure throwing a rolling paper and some herb in the sea will end the world. Get a life.
More annoyed about how people don’t care enough about littering here to preface a statement like with: I don’t condone this but if you have to get rid of it you can.
lol you can always tell who are the finger pointing concerned citizens are. What is a munchie wrapper? do explain……
Did you even bother to think about this before posting?? You sound really stupid. ‘Munchie’ wrappers are not made of paper.
All the cigarette smokers I know tear off the filter, put it in their pocket and throw the rest of the butt into the sea. Organic mate
Well have you been to public beach or dart park? If that was the case then we wouldn’t find butts all over the sand. I’ve got to knock them out of my kids hand before he tries to eat them!
I just wish people would care a little more than past themselves. But that’s not the case. I commend you and your friends though for being somewhat thoughtful.
Munchies – food after smoking weed. Could be take out containers or BK wrappers. Anything food comes in that should go in a garbage and not the ground. I’m not saying this poster is going to litter because they throw a spliff in the sea, just taking the chance to go off on the losers here that do in hopes they read it and oh what the hell, who cares just do whatever.
That’s the spirit
It is my honest opinion that this should have been a case of dispose, warn and send off. A single spliff and a 5? Jeez.. these young men are about to enter the workforce, but thanks to our stone age laws which conservatives love to never change, they have this PETTY arrest tagging along with them.
Meanwhile, tobacco cigarettes can be smoked right on government compounds in designated areas and cannabis is being legalized all over the world. Cayman, I know you hate change, but stop ruining young people over a medical plant. You obviously cannot stop a plant from being grown and there’s too much demand.
Legalize, regulate like alcohol and tobacco, and TAX IT.
AMEN!
Tax nature? The same ‘medical plant’ you speak of grows freely…why tax again?? Your mad.