UK Government Blocks Bermuda From Legalizing Marijuana On Same Day New Prime Minister Takes Office

The United Kingdom has a new leader. And one of the government’s first acts under Prime Minister Liz Truss was to refuse to give formal permission to allow Bermuda to enact a law to legalize and regulate marijuana—despite reports that Truss herself previously supported legalizing cannabis.

This is a development that top Bermuda officials and UK reform advocates are not taking lightly, with some characterizing it as colonialist era overreach by the UK that may rise to the level of a constitutional crisis.

Lawmakers in Bermuda, a British territory since the 17th century, approved the administration’s “flagship” cannabis legalization proposal earlier this year, but it was withheld for months as the government awaited “royal assent”—a formal, monarchical sign-off on legislation—from the UK-appointed governor of the territory.

Then, on the same day that Truss became prime minister of the UK, the government informed Bermuda that it had decided “not to assent to the bill as drafted,” Bermuda Gov. Rena Lalgie announced. The UK said it couldn’t give its authorization based on its interpretation of international treaties that bar member states from legalizing cannabis for reasons beyond medical or scientific use.

Still, Bermuda’s attorney general said in a statement on Tuesday the government will press on to enact the reform despite the denial of assent.

“Disappointing but not surprising, given the confines of our constitutional relationship with the UK Government and their archaic interpretation of the Narcotic Conventions,” Attorney General Kathy Lynn Simmons said. “The People of Bermuda have democratically expressed their desire for a regulated cannabis licensing regime following the strong endorsement at the ballot box and an extensive public consultation process.”

“The Government of Bermuda intends to continue to advance this initiative, within the full scope of its constitutional powers, in keeping with our 2020 General Election Platform commitment,” Simmons said.

A terrible start to @TrussLiz's govt as Britain, a backwards colonial power, stamps on Bermuda's democratic decision on intelligent, evidence-based #drugspolicy. UK has said no, we don't care what your Parliament decided, you may not legalise #cannabishttps://t.co/cxe3yEUlQIpic.twitter.com/MwHruCV7nE

— CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform (@CLEARUK) September 7, 2022

Under the Bermuda proposal, a marijuana regulatory authority would be established to manage cannabis business licensing and make recommendations on future policies. Adults 21 and older could possess up to seven grams in a “public place,” or more if they have a valid license type. The “intent” of the bill is to prioritize licensing for people disproportionately impacted by the drug war.

Fees collected by licensees would cover the costs of administering the program, and that revenue could also be divided up to support drug treatment programs, cultivation training for licensees and scientific research into cannabis.

Governor Rena Lalgie, for her part, said that she’s “informed the premier and relayed the UK’s continued desire to work with Bermuda on reforms within the scope of our existing international obligations.”

“The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs concluded that the Bill, as currently drafted, is not consistent with obligations held by the UK and Bermuda under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances,” she said.

Lalgie previously said in May that the UK “supported and is currently assisting some of the Crown Dependencies and other Overseas Territories to develop policy and legislation in a way which is compliant with the relevant Conventions.”

“I hope that Bermudian officials will work together with UK officials to find a way forward—one that does not result in life changing criminal records for users of small amounts of cannabis and unlocks commercial opportunities, whilst maintaining Bermuda’s excellent reputation for upholding the rule of law,” she said at the time.

Bermuda Premier David Burt of the Progressive Labour Party didn’t immediately react to the denial of assent—but he warned earlier this year that if UK stood in the way of this legislation, it would “destroy the relationship we had with the United Kingdom.”

Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst for the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that “Bermuda wants to legalize, but while nominally independent, its legal status is quite confusing—it requires UK crown authorization for something like this, which hasn’t been granted. It’s colonial era bullshit.”

There are several folds to this development. It’s unclear, for example, whether the denial of assent is a reflection of the new UK government leadership’s position on legalization, or if the decision was carried over from the prior administration under Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In any case, Truss, the new Conservative prime minister, was a key figure in the prior government.

Until Tuesday, she occupied the position of secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, which oversees the approval or denial of assent. Truss was previously a Liberal Democrat, and she reportedly supported cannabis legalization. One former friend told BBC Radio 4 that Truss tried plastering the walls of their university with posters reading “Free the Weed.”

Also notably, the UK did grant royal assent to Canada after the country legalized cannabis in 2018. That was under the administration of Prime Minister Theresa May, also of the Conservative Party. Canada’s move to legalize also flouted the same international treaties that the UK cited in denying assent to Bermuda.

However, Canada, along with Australia, is generally more independent from UK’s government, operating under a different legal status that gives them more legislative liberties compared to overseas territories like Bermuda.

The British government under Johnson separately faced criticism from the British Virgin Islands (BVI), where lawmakers passed a medical cannabis legalization bill in 2020 that has yet to receive assent, according to a June 2022 report from The BVI Beacon.

“It’s basically uncharted waters,” Rolles said of the latest development in Bermuda. “I’m not sure how long UK will hold out if pressure continues.”

In Bermuda, medical cannabis was legalized following a Supreme Court ruling in 2016 that allows people to petition for a license to legally possess and use marijuana for therapeutic purposes. Possession of up to seven grams of cannabis is also decriminalized.

Back in the UK, MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle of the Co-operative Party sharply criticized the government’s decision not to grant Bermuda assent for the cannabis reform.

The British Government today has intervened to stop Bermuda legalising cannabis but refused to intervene when they banned gay marriage saying it would be wrong to intervene. This is just wrong and will hasten calls for their independence.

— Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP🌹🏳️‍🌈 (@lloyd_rm) September 7, 2022

“The British Government today has intervened to stop Bermuda legalising cannabis but refused to intervene when they banned gay marriage saying it would be wrong to intervene,” he wrote. “This is just wrong and will hasten calls for their independence.”

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UK Parliament Committee Endorses Decriminalizing Drugs

A UK House of Commons panel is calling on the government to decriminalize drugs and adopt other harm reduction approaches to address a growing overdose crisis.

“We recommend a radical change in UK drugs policy from a criminal justice to a health approach. A health focused and harm reduction approach would not only benefit those who are using drugs but reduce harm to and the costs for their wider communities,” reads a report issued on Wednesday by the Health and Social Care Committee. “Decriminalisation of possession for personal use saves money from the criminal justice system that is more effectively invested in prevention and treatment.”

“Every drug death is avoidable. However, the United Kingdom, and in particular Scotland, have amongst the highest drug death rates in Europe. The evidence we have heard leads us to conclude that UK drugs policy is failing.”

The panel said that decriminalization alone “will not be effective without investing in holistic harm reduction, support and treatment services for drug addiction.” To that end, it is also voicing support for syringe exchange programs, drug checking services, naloxone, safe consumption facilities and heroin assisted treatment—components that it says “can all play an important role in preventing deaths amongst drug users as well as protecting their communities by reducing the harm from discarded syringes and drug related crime.”

The committee also wants to move responsibility for drug policy from the Home office, which handles crime, to the Department of Health and Social Care. “We strongly recommend this move,” the report says.

Our report on #drugspolicy is now published.

Read it here: https://t.co/wOPXr17Ews

Find our press notice here: https://t.co/TZ67YcLL8epic.twitter.com/lSPb0KLmxA

— Health and Social Care Committee (@CommonsHealth) October 22, 2019

When it comes to the proposal to remove criminal penalties for drug possession, the committee wrote about witnessing the success of that policy in Portugal, where it was enacted in 2001.

“On our visit to Portugal we saw a system marked by a positive attitude to service users which recognised the impact that chaotic lifestyles could have on engagement with support and treatment,” the report says. “There was a striking ethos of holistic, non-judgemental treatment and access to services focused on the needs of individuals rather than the convenience of the system.”

The lawmakers said that UK-based treatment professions share “a similar ethos, but their capacity to deliver is compromised by inadequate funding and the policy framework.”

The Portuguese model, they write, has “had an impact on stigma” and has led to a “dramatic drop in drug related deaths…without significant increases in drug use.”

“All those we met in Portugal involved in this policy area were very positive about their model,” the lawmakers said. “On introduction, there had been significant opposition, but there is now political consensus and nobody would want to go back. Some of those we met were now of the view that the next step should be legalisation and regulation, to enable the generation of taxation revenue and quality control.”

“Efforts to improve the unacceptably high rates of drug-related deaths would be strengthened by explicitly reframing drug use as a health rather than a criminal justice issue.”

The panel’s report also recounts how members toured supervised drug consumption facilities in Frankfurt, Germany, and recommends that they be “piloted in areas of high need” in the UK.

“Police representatives told us that these facilities should not be viewed simply as allowing people to take illicit drugs–they are about safety, stopping drug overdoses, and very importantly, providing access to a wraparound of other services to eventually stop that person’s drug use,” they wrote. “Harm reduction approaches such as [drug consumption rooms] reduce the wider harms to local communities as well as for those using drugs.”

A government spokesperson rejected the committee’s recommendation to remove criminal penalties for low-level drug offenses, saying that it “would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families and communities.”

But Dr. Sarah Wollaston MP, chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, said that “a holistic approach centered on improving the health of and reducing the harm faced by drug users, as well as increasing the treatment available, must be a priority going forward.”

“This approach would not only benefit those who are dependent on drugs but benefit their wider communities,” she said in a press release. “The Government should learn lessons from the international experience, including places like Portugal and Frankfurt. It should consult on the decriminalisation of drug possession for personal use from a criminal offence to a civil matter. Decriminalisation alone would not be sufficient. There needs to be a radical upgrade in treatment and holistic care for those who are dependent on drugs and this should begin without delay.”

James Nichols, CEO of the pro-reform Transform Drug Policy Foundation, praised the report but also suggested its recommendations didn’t go far enough in that they would leave the market unregulated by simply decriminalizing possession.

“We need to think about drugs as a health issue, not a criminal justice agenda. This isn’t simply a matter of thinking differently. It’s about creating an entirely new policy landscape. It means action, not just words,” he wrote in a blog post. “Decriminalisation is essential in moving drug policy away from the simplistic, ineffective and often prejudicial approach we have today. Ultimately, though, we need to bring the whole market under legal regulation in order to really get drugs under control and reduce the violence and exploitation that prohibition creates.”

The UK committee’s endorsement of decriminalization is just the latest sign that broad drug policy reforms beyond marijuana legalization are gaining traction around the globe.

This month, Scotland’s ruling party unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing “decriminalization of possession and consumption of controlled drugs so that health services are not prevented from giving treatment to those that need it.”

In Canada, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health issued a report in June recommending the government “work with provinces, territories, municipalities and Indigenous communities and law enforcement agencies to decriminalize the simple possession of small quantities of illicit substances.”

In the U.S., presidential candidates such as Pete Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard have voiced support for drug decriminalization during the course of their campaigns for the Democratic nomination, and businessman Andrew Yang and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) spoke in favor of removing criminal penalties for at least opioids during a debate this month.

Denver and Oakland have enacted policies this year focused on psychedelics decriminalization.

A poll released this month found that a majority of Americans—55 percent—support decriminalizing drugs.

Last week, a top Mexican lawmaker proposed going further by legalizing the production and sales of drugs in order to undercut the violent, cartel-controlled underground market.

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