Pembroke MP Ashfield DeVent has repeated his call for a debate on cannabis, asking: "If not now — when?"

Mr. DeVent said he sympathises with the personal heartbreak of Bermuda Democratic Alliance leader Craig Cannonier who watched drugs tear his family apart at a young age.

But he claimed illegal substances are playing a part in the violence plaguing the Island and argued Mr. Cannonier was wrong to say now is not the time for a debate on Bermuda's drugs laws.

Mr. DeVent has previously said he would consider introducing a private members' bill to start a House of Assembly discussion on cannabis decriminalisation.

Five months later, the backbencher is pessimistic such a move by an individual would make any progress in Parliament — but he suggests a report commissioned by Government could get a serious debate going.

Earlier this week, Mr. Cannonier told how his father would howl like a hyena and burn the family furniture while high on illegal drugs.

Mr. DeVent said yesterday: "I sympathise with the personal side of his story, but I think his personal story is probably shared by many people in this Country.

"I think there are very few families, if not in the immediate for sure in the extended family, who have not been touched by the scourge called addiction.

"Almost every family in Bermuda has been touched by it, hence the need to collectively stand up and say, what's the issue and how are we going to address it?

"But the question I would ask is, if it's not the time now to discuss it, when is it? I believe much of the increase in violence we have seen in this Country recently is a direct result of gang members involved in illegal drug activity.

"One only has to look at Mexico now, where the country has basically become a war zone. Most of it's tied to an illegal trade.

"We need to discuss it, look at it. I'm not encouraging anyone to go out and use it. But it being illegal has not stopped people from using it. The so-called war on drugs has failed."

Earlier this week, Progressive Labour Party member and lawyer Charles Richardson said most Bermudians would support decriminalising small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

Mr. DeVent said: "What I think both myself and Mr. Richardson have said is that an individual can be a positive citizen in the Country but now becomes a criminal because of their possession of a tiny amount of cannabis for personal use.

"We must look at and consider the possibility of taking the profit out of the drug trade and with that we might see a drop in the violence, or at least they won't have to fight over profits."

Mr. DeVent believes opposition from groups such as the church make decriminalisation a spiky subject for many in his party.

PLP backbencher Delaey Robinson's call for a shake-up of the Island's drug laws fell flat in 2000, when his own colleagues interrupted his Parliamentary speech to tell him to stop talking.

But more recently, PLP leadership candidate Terry Lister has said he would welcome a parliamentary debate on the issue, while rival Dale Butler wants a referendum bill to canvass public opinion, and former Minister Wayne Perinchief has called for the downgrading of cannabis offences.

Government Senator Walton Brown has advocated PLP caucus discussion, claiming people possessing minute amounts of marijuana should not be prosecuted, while former party chairman David Burt and central committee member Makai Dickerson have called for a national debate.

The United Bermuda Party says discussion should come in the form of a joint committee of MPs rather than in the House, but Mr. Cannonier's BDA colleague Mark Pettingill has stated it's time for the Island to get real and acknowledge the subject is worth a debate.