BELIZE
Decriminalization
of
Marijuana
Committee
FINAL
REPORT
2015
The Decriminalization of Marijuana Committee (DOMC) has released the document on the decriminalization of Marijuana. In March 2012, a small group of public and private Belizean citizens were tasked to research and make recommendations to assist Belize's policymakers in considering the amendment of current legislation to decriminalize possession of up to ten grams of marijuana.
The group formed became the Decriminalization of Marijuana Committee (DOMC) chaired by Douglas Singh, the former Minister of Police and is comprised of five women and four men representing a cross section of the Belizean community. Members are ethnically, socioeconomically, professionally, and philosophically diverse. Their unifying attribute is their commitment to presenting a researched consensus on the issue of the decriminalization of marijuana in Belize.
Members include:
Chairman and Businessman, Douglas Singh
Public Servant, Rhea Rogers Chang
Travel Consultant, Katie Valk
Retired Public Servant, C. B. Hyde
Entrepreneur, Jeremy Spooner
Attorney, Donelle Harding Hawke
Director of National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC) - Belize, Esner Vellos
Entrepreneur, Susan Fuller, and
Activist, YaYa Marin Coleman.
The
DOMC
members
have
worked
under
the
guide
of
the
Terms
of
Reference
(page
4).
They
held
discussions,
reviewed
literature,
conducted
surveys,
and
organized
consultations
to
obtain
documentation
of
public
opinion,
local
context,
and
international
trends
on
the
issue
of
decriminalizing
marijuana.
DOMC
members
spent
countless
hours
reading
emails
from
Belizeans,
listening
to
various
opinions,
frequently
noting
and
appreciating
the
candidness
of
persons
to
the
idea.
To
highlight
elements
that
helped
to
enlighten
DOMC
members
on
public
opinion,
sparked
heated
discussions,
and
assisted
in
formalizing
recommendations,
excerpts
from
Personal
Interviews
are
included
on
page
20
of
this
report.
CLICK HERE for the whole report.