Grenada’s reform is building regional momentum, but Bermuda’s path runs straight into a UK veto, and the clash reveals where Caribbean legalization spreads, and where it stalls.
Grenada decriminalized cannabis in January and set the legal age for consumption to 21 years old nationwide. Drug policy reform advocates are now setting their sights on Bermuda to see if it will be the next Caribbean country to fully legalize. As Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory, this might be too complex a legal revision to accomplish at the local level.
Medical cannabis was introduced in 2016 in Bermuda, with possession of up to seven grams (¼ oz) being decriminalized in 2017, according to the Decriminalization of Cannabis Amendment Act. The Medical Cannabis Act of 2019 proposed the creation of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority. However, today, its mandate has not come to fruition.
Britain v. Bermuda, A Battle Royale
Next, the 2020 proposed Cannabis Licensing Act, which sought full adult-use legalization, was coupled with a bid for Bermudian independence, which may have contributed to its failure to pass. Cannabis is not legal for adult use in the United Kingdom, and UK officials signaled little appetite for a Bermuda move that could create political and legal friction.
However, the premier denied this bid for independence while sticking to his guns about legalization.
“If Her Majesty’s representative in Bermuda does not give assent to something that has been passed lawfully and legally under this local government, this will destroy the relationship we had with the United Kingdom,” he said.
This disagreement put Bermuda on the brink of a constitutional crisis and a potential break with Britain in 2022, after Britain blocked the Government’s flagship legislation to legalize the use and sale of cannabis, according to The Royal Gazette.
In an unprecedented move, Rena Lalgie, the Governor at the time, said she had been “instructed” by the UK’s foreign secretary to deny royal assent to the Progressive Labour Party’s (PLP) Cannabis Licensing Bill. Lalgie withheld affirmation of the controversial Cannabis Licensing Act 2022, saying it was “inconsistent” with obligations held by the UK and Bermuda under United Nations (UN) Conventions.
“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.”
Mrs. Lalgie added: “I have informed the Premier and relayed the UK’s continued desire to work with Bermuda on reforms within the scope of our existing international obligations.”
Ministers admitted that the PLP’s cannabis plans went beyond the scope of international conventions on drugs, and that the legislation was not aligned with Britain’s obligations under the UN’s 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
Bermudians Want Legal Weed
Premier Burt felt strongly that Bermudians wanted cannabis legalization, regardless of what the UK wanted for Bermuda, considering fellow Commonwealth country Canada has been in violation of the archaic, 65-year-old treaty since 2018.
While Parliament in Grenada approved changes to the nation’s cannabis laws, allowing adults 21 and over to possess defined amounts, expunging past minor offences, and opening the door to a regulated medicinal and therapeutic industry, representatives of Bermuda hope to follow suit. Most recently, plans to advance legislation were included in the 2025 PLP party platform.
To further push legalization, the newly formed Green Framework Foundation (GFF) has begun selecting an advisory team of international experts, which the foundation believes will be critical as it builds Bermuda’s first comprehensive cannabis and cannabinoid governance framework, alongside the country’s medical and industry programs.
More Research is Imperative
“We are working with CariGenetics to help people understand how individuals metabolize cannabis,” said Kim Nicole Casey, CEO and Founder of Green Framework Foundation and Co-founder of the Bermuda Cannabis Association. “0.3% doesn’t work for everyone, especially for alleviating chronic pain. Research shows that people of Caribbean descent, specifically, metabolize cannabis a lot faster, and therefore may need higher dosages. Our doctors in Bermuda need to be educated about this.”
The GFF hopes the medical cannabis industry will eventually be in a position to take a patient’s unique genetic makeup into account for precision dosing.
Dr. Carika Weldon, MRSB, FIBMS, CEO and Founder of biotech startup CariGenetics, is pioneering research in this regard by mapping the human genome. A significant portion of medical research, including clinical trials, does not take Black people and their physiology into account.
Lack of Research is Limiting Medical Access
“85% of the diverse global population is not included in efficacy and safety testing of drugs,” said Dr. Weldon. “Most is based on data from European men. Women have only been included in clinical trials since 1993. The African genome is the most diverse in the world.”
CariGenetics also examines cannabis dependence risk. In one dataset Weldon cited, the African-descent subgroup showed a 16% higher risk, while the European-descent subgroup showed no increased risk in that sample.
“So that screams to me that there is a higher risk, and we need to be testing,” said Dr. Weldon.
Bermudian recording artist Collie Buddz concurs. As the lyrics to his track Come Around question, “When dem a go legalize?”
Photo by Vivian Luciano on Unsplash
