Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley has not ruled out the possibility of legalising marijuana in Bermuda — although he is personally against it.

Mr Dunkley said yesterday he doesn’t feel the legalisation of the drug is right for the Island but remains open to discussion in advance of a coming public debate on the drug.

“We just started this process, so I don’t want to be setting up goalposts for what the individuals who are going to make submissions to come back to us should do,” Mr Dunkley said.

“I look forward to the process. I want to hear everything from the beginning to the end. I’m not going to rule out anything at this time. My personal opinions will certainly have an impact on what we do moving forward, as will the opinions of everyone moving forward.”

The Minister announced last month that a mature, public discussion on decriminalisation would take place soon, a promise which was reiterated in Friday’s Throne Speech.

Mr Dunkley said: “Too many lives have been unbalanced by a criminal conviction for insignificant amounts of marijuana. Considerable resources are expended in prosecuting cases that could be better disposed of without any court appearance.

“More importantly, our drug policies have hardly evolved since the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 was first introduced. After 40 years, it is time to look at how we deal with these issues.”

He said a considerable amount of work has already been done by the Department for National Drug Control, and the Ministry intends to collate that research and release it to the public and members of the legislature.

Regarding cruise ship passengers being caught with small amounts of marijuana in their cabins, Mr Dunkley said that prior to the start of the cruise ship season he said the focus was on enforcing the law on the gang plank.

“We tried to adopt an approach where we’re not going to turn a blind eye to the rules that the Island has, we are going to enforce those, but we are really focusing our enforcement on the gang plank,” he said. “

If a cruise ship calls us in and there are challenges on board, then the authorities are going to have to deal with that, and that’s the approach that we are taking at that time. We understand that it’s a very fine line that we have to walk, but the law is the law and we will enforce it at the gang plank.”

The Minister also noted that legislation to end conscription will come before the House of Assembly before the end of its current session.

“Can conscription be eliminated with a simple legislative amendment? Of course it can,” Mr Dunkley said. “Is that responsible? Of course not.

“No one can question my commitment or the commitment of the Bermuda Government to the elimination of conscription, however the timeline to do so will not be dictated by any personal frustrations or single-issue campaigns. There is a responsibility that comes with governing which is harmed by oversimplifying issues or allowing oneself to be caught in a wave of political expediency.

“Conscription will be eliminated and the Regiment preserved. It will happen this session and the timelines will be set to reflect the future requirements of the institution and not any version of its past.”

Mr Dunkley also said increased efforts will be made to encourage gang members to give up the lifestyle through a “call-in” system.

“We will engage community and moral voices to directly challenge those men and women who are on the cusp of exiting the gang lifestyle to choose work over crime, families over gangs and education over just ‘getting by’,” he said.

“This process must be backed by resources and so we also intend to make good on the ‘cash back for communities’ promise we made. This programme already has the legislative foundation after the Proceeds of Crime Act was amended earlier this year. It is now time to put the money where our mouth is and so dollars from the Confiscated Assets Fund will be firstly allocated to support Team Street Safe in their gang mediation efforts.”

Money from the fund will also go towards the Family Centre and Focus Counselling to help support their services.