The government of Antigua and Barbuda has admitted that the decriminalisation of small amounts of marijuana has opened the door for more young people to start using the drug.
At the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a police officer was invited to present to the government on the prevalence of marijuana use among young people.
A note from the cabinet said the policeman noted marijuana abuse was prevalent among children.
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The Cabinet decided that a multi-sectoral group would be organised consisting of the police, Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Child Protection Unit, NGO’s, Churches and other community groups to study the subject of substance abuse and to craft ways of discouraging youth from participating in this harmful exercise.
Information Minister Melford Nicholas said the government did not intend for children as young as 12 to start using the drug.
 “When the matter was looked into and contemplated in the first instance, it was not intended that there should be any wide-scale abuse or expansion of the use of the substance,” he said.
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“The idea of decriminalising the use of marijuana where young men were found with a small amount for personal use was then and still is good public policy.”
He said the government will be looking at reforms that may see age restrictions being added to the legislation.
Nicholas was quick to add that the government’s move to “fine tune” the legislation will not mean that the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act of 2018, which allows a person to have a maximum of 15 grams of Cannabis or Cannabis resin in their possession, will be repealed.
He said a public education campaign is needed as most people believe the decriminalisation of marijuana means it is legalised.
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