News that PLP candidate Makai Dickerson had been caught with cannabis sparked discussion and debate across the Island yesterday.While several members of the public told The Royal Gazette they felt Mr Dickerson should step down as a candidate, others argued the arrest was a non-issue for them.Andrew Rossiter said that even if Mr Dickerson’s claim that he was unknowingly holding the drugs was true, the incident should have an impact on his campaign.“He shouldn’t have had the stuff, and if he was just in the car with others who were doing the same, that doesn’t make things better,” Mr Rossiter said. “Breaking the law doesn’t make him more appealing as a candidate.”Brothers Roland L Hill and Burland D Hill however expressed more forgiving sentiments, saying that most people have skeletons in their closets.“Nobody’s perfect,” Roland Hill said. “Everyone has good and evil. People make mistakes and sometimes they even go to prison, but when they get out having paid their dues give them another chance.“Everyone should have the right to vote for anybody. Let the people decide.”Asked if a candidate in his constituency was arrested for an offence like possessing cannabis, Burland Hill said: “A lot of us have made mistakes in the past. It wouldn’t affect how I vote. I would still stick with my party, the PLP.”Jennifer Adams meanwhile said that she was glad that Mr Dickerson had released the news of his arrest.“I think he’s a candidate for public office and he broke the law, so I’m glad it came out. I don’t think that people should vote for someone who broke the law, but it’s up to the party if they think he’s worthy of the people’s vote.”Megan Woloshyn said she had not heard about the incident, but that any candidate caught breaking the law should reconsider their candidacy.“I don’t really think that someone who has broken the law should be put in the position of being a law maker,” she said.Joshua Davis said: “I don’t think it should be illegal, but he’s in Government or wants to be, so that’s another reason why he shouldn’t be doing it.”Asked if it would sway his vote if a candidate in his constituency were caught with cannabis, Mr Davis said it wouldn’t.A 43-year-old St David’s man, who asked not to be named, agreed.“I don’t think I would give it much thought,” he said. “There’s more than one person with skeletons in their closet, and I’m not talking about either one of the parties in particular.“Until they are all drug tested it really doesn’t mean anything. If people want to make it seem like a big deal, then pee in a cup.”A 23-year-old Smith’s man, who asked to be identified only as Andrew, said it was foolish for Mr Dickerson to have the drugs, particularly with the election looming. A 21-year-old Smith’s woman said: “They shouldn’t be doing it at all, but if they are going to do it, they shouldn’t be in politics.”A similar debate took place on The Royal Gazette Online, with forum users arguing about how serious the matter is.‘Billy M’ wrote that while he believes cannabis use should be legalised, people in positions of power should not be using it.“Being an MP would/should be seen as a responsibility,” he wrote. “Marijuana use by an adult with responsibilities is silly, and demonstrates that he's just not serious enough of a person for a real job.”Another poster, ‘AllanJr,’ wrote: “[Mr Dickerson] is a young person that put himself forward, and perhaps it would be more sensible to withdraw his running in the election. But we need to keep it in perspective, he got caught, and will have to suffer the consequences.“One thing to consider is that this is most likely a much lesser evil than so many others have done, but just not an acceptable way to conduct oneself whether going into politics or not.”Several forum users criticised the timing of the announcement, which took place more than two months after Mr Dickerson’s arrest.‘Familiar’ wrote: “I'm less concerned about his using marijuana than I am about why it wasn't public knowledge before, or at the time of, his roll out as a candidate. After the fact it sounds more of a cover up that got away from them so they had to publicly announce the situation.”