There are still options available to make cannabis use legal in Bermuda. This includes the possibility of a scientific or research cannabis industry with a view to generating intellectual property and diversifying Afro-Caribbean data.

We can also develop a medical cannabis industry that uses our tourism infrastructure and provides our sick and elderly with access to natural medicines. All of these options are multifaceted in that they can not only tackle multiple issues on island but also generate much needed revenue. Some infrastructural benefits include a percentage of revenue generated being diverted to the hospital and mental health clinics to help stabilise and progress patient care, and the introduction of a medical tourism component with the introduction of medical cannabis.

Revenue being enjoyed by some of our regional counterparts — Jamaica and Costa Rica — through mental health retreats has shown this to be a viable option. If we support sales internationally to prescribed medical cannabis patients and articulate our laws for ease of transport and access, we can make ourselves more attractive.

Within a medical cannabis structure, we can alleviate the sorts of consequences our communities are worried about. Medical cannabis is taken orally, topically, sublingual or vaped but never combusted.

Vaping causes less of an odour if the patient needs it publicly. These are patients that have been prescribed cannabis after other forms of treatment have failed or caused negative side-effects. These are persons who know their limits and can titrate accordingly.

There is an increasing cry for mental health services in Bermuda, specifically in the areas of anxiety, depression and grief/trauma. Medical cannabis has been shown to be helpful in alleviating treatment-resistant depression symptoms and comorbidities, generalised anxiety disorder symptoms and anorexia nervosa, among other disorders as well when prescribed.

It is my belief that we should use every tool in our kit to help combat the erosion of mental health, particularly among the younger generations. The effects of medical cannabis on mental health need to be taken into consideration. As of this writing, there is inconclusive evidence of a causal link between cannabis use and negative mental health symptoms.

However, it must be stated that in some people cannabis can exacerbate negative mental health issues/symptoms. This is why there is a growing need for screening tests to better understand substance effects on mental health. This increases our educational materials so that we may better understand underlying mechanisms for substance abuse and help inform those who are prescribed medical cannabis.

The first defence against ignorance is information, and doing so assists in combating the existing mental health crisis.

• Joshua Santucci-Smith is the Director of Policy for the Bermuda Cannabis Association