April 19, 2013

Dear Sir,

If marijuana should be legalised or not was not the point made by some of the readers of

The Royal Gazette on Page 4 in today’s newspaper, and once again muddled and or childish thinking is used by some.

For those who cry out about all the poor Bermudians who have been made criminals for a bit of weed — you have missed the point. They deserve what they got. They knew it was against the law (even if it is a ‘silly’ law, it is still the law). They knew what they were doing. They knew the penalty. They gambled and when they were caught, they lost the gamble. It is as simple as that.

By all means do what you can, lawfully, to have the law changed, but do not cry for those who knew the law, knew the penalty, knew the consequences but broke the law anyway. There are many laws that need changing or dropped altogether, but until they are, they are still the law and we are still responsible for the choices we make.

As for comments like ‘personal freedom of choice should champion all other reasons for its legalisation’, this appears to be the cry of a spoiled child and one that we have heard from before. ‘Personal freedom of choice’? What is theft but the personal freedom of choice? What is driving on the wrong side of the road, not stopping at stop signs, shouting out vulgarities in public, drinking and being drunk and obnoxious in public, rape, bullying, child molesting, young men having sex with underage girls and on and on and on. What are they but personal choice? Let’s take all those off the law books too, because personal freedom should champion all other choices?

Personally I don’t think legalising the smoking, growing and selling of marijuana is a smart idea, but I don’t really care that much. One thing I have learned from history and a long life; humans are always making the wrong choice — and it doesn’t seem to matter if it is legal or not legal.

MARK EMMERSON

Pembroke