The Belize government has confirmed that concerns raised by the banking community have led to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Control and Licensing Bill 2022 being temporarily shelved despite going through all the states in Parliament.
Home Affairs and New Growth Industries Minister, Kareem Musa, was asked by reporters to comment on his reluctance to admit that banking sector concerns would present a roadblock to the bill.
“Cannabis legalization is taking place all across the Caribbean. Like the rest of the Caribbean, Belize always has correspondent banking concerns. As you recall, in the offshore sector, we had to make certain regulations and adjustments to comply with the European Union so that we were not blacklisted.
“So, correspondent banking is a live issue at all times for Belize and the Caribbean, but what I can tell you is that countries like Jamaica and Antigua are moving towards it, Trinidad is about to pass their legislation, and St. Vincent, those countries are moving towards the legalization of cannabis.”
Musa acknowledged that the cannabis industry is a cash industry, “so when you ask me about banking, banking does not come into the picture unless you are banking your cannabis dollars.
“So, even in the Caribbean, and the great United States where it is a US$92 billion-dollar industry, it is a cash industry. So, individuals who are engaged in the cannabis sector do not go and deposit their funds in the bank. That does not happen even in America.
Musa also indicated that the government’s primary reason for putting a pause on the cannabis legislation is the five million dollars (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) price tag attached to the execution of a cannabis referendum.
Last month, the Belize Coalition of Churches (BCC) said it would soon be putting forward its campaign after meeting the threshold for triggering a referendum on the issue of cannabis legalization that could take place in September this year.
Under the Referendum Act, a referendum may be triggered when a petition receives the signatures of ten percent of the voting population.
Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai said the threshold to trigger the referendum had been met.
The House of Representatives has debated the introduction of a supplementary allocation to cover the cost of the upcoming cannabis referendum, with Prime Minister John Briceño saying his administration has to find the five million dollars that it didn’t budget for in its recent national budget.
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