Cannabis authority addresses police recruits
By Kisean Joseph kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com Nearly 60 police recruits have received a foundational education in medicinal cannabis law, an initiative the Antigua and Barbuda Medicinal Cannabis Authority (ABMCA) says is critical to building a more informed and effective national law enforcement body. The ABMCA recently conducted an educational engagement session at the Police Training School, introducing […]
Black News 
By Kisean Joseph
kisean.joseph@antiguaobserver.com
Nearly 60 police recruits have received a foundational education in medicinal cannabis law, an initiative the Antigua and Barbuda Medicinal Cannabis Authority (ABMCA) says is critical to building a more informed and effective national law enforcement body.
The ABMCA recently conducted an educational engagement session at the Police Training School, introducing officers-in-training to the Authority’s mandate, the structure of the medicinal cannabis industry, and the legal distinctions that will define their work on the street.
CEO Regis Burton says the session was anchored in a principle that the authority considers non-negotiable; that cannabis now exists within two distinct legal categories, and that every officer must understand the difference.
“We really hope that as law enforcement officers, they see that time has changed to where cannabis can be placed in categories of illegal cannabis and also legal cannabis,” Burton said. “Once you understand that there are two legal regimes and frameworks that, as a law enforcement officer, you have to work within, you will be better prepared to help us enforce this industry, also to help us educate within the industry.”
Beyond enforcement, the ABMCA used the session to position the recruits as potential ambassadors of public education on cannabis regulation. Burton said that expectation was communicated directly to every recruit in the room.
“One of our key takeaways to each of the recruits was that we want them to also help us become educators,” he said. “As law enforcement officers, they are now better prepared on the legal side of the industry, and we’re hoping that they will execute their duties with some level of education since this is a new and budding industry.”
The authority also drew a parallel between public safety and national development, arguing that a police force grounded in knowledge of the law is better equipped to serve both enforcement and societal education functions.
“Just like we talk about a safe society helps to support tourism, we believe that a police force that better understands the laws is better able to enforce them and also better able to educate the society,” Burton said. “The hope is that we’ll see improved enforcement activities and, at the same time, an improved, educated society and a much more educated law enforcement body.”
The ABMCA thanked the Police Training School and the participating recruits for their professionalism and willingness to engage on an issue it described as being of growing regional and international relevance, adding that continued engagement with law enforcement agencies remains a strategic priority as Antigua and Barbuda works to strengthen its position in the medicinal cannabis sector.
