Churches deliver 20,108 signatures to Governor-General to trigger a referendum on legalization of marijuana

By Aaron Humes: This morning, the next major step was taken in what is being described as a national confrontation on the issue of control of marijuana and cannabis as an industry.

Before the formal press conference outside Belize House, Pastor Louis Wade told reporters that apart from a scanty meeting via WhatsApp, the Government has been moving on the issue ‘like a bat out of hell,’ and the trigger for a referendum was intended to slow, if not stop, them.

Wade said that despite his own personal overtures and those of others, the Government has refused to yield, and so it has developed its own blitzkrieg of signature collecting – 13 thousand in 10 days, then another 5 thousand in five, from across the country, from supporters and opponents and representing the voice of the people. The next couple of weeks were spent vetting signatures and petitioners and according to Bishop Moses Benguche, Senator for the Churches, they are “sure” they have enough validated signatures and petitioners to successfully move the referendum.

Bishop Benguche noted that he and Governor-General Froyla Tzalam spoke candidly and conversationally on a wide range of issues regarding today’s society. He stated further that the Church is lending its considerable weight – representatives today including the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Evangelical communities – to an issue that impacts many and that has devastated rural communities in particular, noting, “Belize is not just Southside (Belize City).”

Senator Benguche said that “when the time comes” the churches would mobilize to campaign on the topic, but for now they will step aside and let the Elections and Boundaries Department do its job, though he mentioned he would be “very disappointed” if the petition failed after the significant amount of vetting volunteers did of each petition.

As to the criticism that the churches are only just now speaking out on this issue and ignoring more salient ones, Wade responded that the Government is primarily responsible for the well-being of Belizeans and that the police, for example, would have an even harder time enforcing marijuana-related legislation on top of their other duties. Bishop Benguche and Wade added that the Church has hardly been silent, if not more out front, preferring to work with those needing help and assistance from food to bills to counseling.

We’ll have much more later on.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.

© 2022, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.