Police Handcuffed – No Charges for Legal Weed

The Belize Police Department, according to AG Peyrefitte, is fully onboard with the new law; however, there are officers within the agency that are averse to the idea of persons possessing any amount of weed on them.  So how will that skepticism be addressed?  The Attorney General says rest easy; you can’t be prosecuted if your weed falls out of your pocket in the presence of an officer.

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“If it’s more than ten grams then you are going to fall under the old law and be in possession of marijuana.  Now, the police are onboard.  They’re not gonna say, “Oh, you have ten point zero, zero, five grams so therefore…”  No man, that’s not going to help the situation.  Ten grams is about a half pack of cigarette, as I said in the Senate, it’s about ten, well it depends on how thick you roll your weed Daniel, I noh know how thick you roll your weed but the average sized weed from what I have heard is about ten sticks of weed.  So I think that’s more than enough weed from a person who just imagines smoking weed that that should be enough at any one time.  Why would you need to have more than that?  That’s what the government is saying.  But for now, once you are within that amount you are good.  Nobody will harass you.”

Michael Peyrefitte

Isani Cayetano

“Not to be cynical AG… but you’re that if I’m on the street and I drop my ten grams of weed that an officer should be as polite and as courteous as to picking it up and returning it back to me without any fear on my part that it would lead to either an arrest or harassment down the road or any other vindictive action being taken by officers who, as you mentioned earlier, some are staunchly opposed to the passage of this law?”

Michael Peyrefitte

“Isani, if you drop your cigarette, would they help you with it to put it back in your pocket?  No.  So more than likely they won’t help you put it back in your pocket.  Whatever falls out of your pocket that’s your business but what I am telling you is that the law, as it stands right now, if you’re walking or you’re riding on your bike and your ten grams of weed drops out of your pocket and a police officer and an officer sees that, he cannot detain you, arrest you, nor charge you for having possession of ten grams or less.”