Act No. 24 of 2019 - Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago

1 BILLANACTto amend the Dangerous Drugs Act,Chap. 11:25[Assented to 18th December, 2019 ]ENACTEDby the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago Act may be cited as the Dangerous Drugs(Amendment) Act, Act comes into operation on such date as isfixed by the President by titleCommencementEnactmentFifth Session Eleventh Parliament Republic ofTrinidad and TobagoREPUBLIC OF Trinidad AND TOBAGOAct No. 24 of 2019 [ ] this Act, the Act means the Dangerous 3(1) of the Act is amended by inserting inthe appropriate alphabetical sequence, the followingdefinitions: cannabis means the plant of the genusCannabis, whether growing or not,including (a)any part of the plant, whethergrowing or not;(b)its seeds;(c)any compound, salt, mixture,extraction, derivative, product,synthetic or other preparation ofthe plant, any part of the plant, itsseeds or cannabis resin,but does not include (d)cannabis resin;(e)fiber produced from the stalk of theplant;(f)oil or cake made from the seeds ofthe plant;(g)sterilised seeds of the plant whichare incapable of germination.

2 Or(h)any other ingredient (i) combined with the plant,any part of the plant, itsseeds or cannabis resin,or(ii) used in anything referredto in paragraph(c),for the purposes of preparing anytopical or oral administration,food, drink or other product;InterpretationChap. 11:25 Section 3 amended2No. 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) 2019 cannabis resin means the separate resin,whether crude or purified, obtained fromany plant of the genusCannabis; public place means an indoor or outdoor area,whether privately or publicly owned, towhich the public has access by right or byinvitation, expressed or implied, whetherby payment of money or not but does notinclude any premises in actual use as adwelling which are not used for commercialpurposes; smoke , in relation to a substance, means (a)to inhale, exhale, burn, combust orvaporise the substance.

3 Or(b)to carry any lighted or heateddevice, pipe or other product,whether natural or synthetic, forthe inhalation of the substance inany manner or in any form,and includes the use of an electronicsmoking device that creates an aerosol orvapour, in any manner or in any form, orthe use of any orally used device, forthe purpose of the inhalation of thesubstance; . 4(b)of the Act is amended by deleting thewords opium poppy, marijuana, or coca plant andsubstituting the words any opium poppy, coca plant orplant of the genusCannabis . 5 of the Act is amended (a)in subsection (1) (i) in the chapeau, by deletingthe words subsection (2) and sub-stituting the words subsections (2),(2A) and (2B) ;Section 4 amendedSection 5 amendedNo.

4 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment)20193(ii) in paragraph(a), by deleting thewords twenty-five and substitutingthe words two hundred and fifty ;and(iii) in paragraph(b), by deleting fromthe word fifty to the words five years and substituting thewords one million dollars and toimprisonment for fifteen years ;(b)in subsection (2) (i)by deleting the full stop andsubstituting a semicolon;(ii) by inserting after paragraph(e), thefollowing paragraphs:(f)a person who has in hispossession not more than (i) thirty grammes ofcannabis; or(ii) five grammes ofCannabis resin;and(g)a person who cultivates orhas in his possession notmore than four growingplants of the genusCannabis. ;(c)by inserting after subsection (2), thefollowing subsections: (2A) Subject to section 5B(2), aperson who has in his possession (a)more than thirty grammes,but not more than sixtygrammes of cannabis; or(b)more than five grammes,but not more than tengrammes of cannabisresin,4No.

5 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment)2019commits an offence and is liable onsummary conviction to a fine offifty thousand dollars.(2B) A person who has in hispossession (a)more than sixty grammes,but not more than onehundred grammes ofcannabis; or(b)more than ten grammes,but not more thanfourteen grammes ofcannabis resin,commits an offence and is liable onsummary conviction to a fine ofseventy-five thousand dollars.(2C)Where a person who isconvicted of an offence undersubsection (2A) fails or is unable topay any fine imposed on him underthat subsection, the Court maymake a community service orderrequiring him to perform thirtyhours of community service inaccordance with the provisions ofthe Community Service Orders Act.

6 (2D)Where a person who isconvicted of an offence undersubsection (2B) fails or is unable topay any fine imposed on him underthat subsection, the Court may makea community service order requiringhim to perform fifty hours ofcommunity service in accordance withthe provisions of the CommunityService Orders Act. ;Chap. 13:06No. 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment)20195(d)in subsection (3) (i) by deleting the word A andsubstituting the words Subject tosubsection (3A), a ;(ii) by deleting the word marijuana and substituting the words plant ofthe genusCannabis ;(iii)by inserting after the words section 4 , the words or any otherwritten law ;(iv) in paragraph(a), by deleting theword fifty and substituting thewords seven hundred and fifty ;(v) in paragraph(b) (A) by deleting the words onehundred thousand andsubstituting the words twomillion ;(B) by deleting the word marijuana in both placeswhere it occurs andsubstituting in each placethe word plant ; and(C)by deleting the words twenty-five years to.

7 (e)by inserting after subsection (3), thefollowing subsection: (3A) Subsection (3) does notapply to a person who cultivates orhas in his possession not more thanfour growing plants of the genusCannabis. ;(f)in subsection (5) (i) by deleting the words one hundredthousand and substituting thewords three million ;6No. 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) 2019 (ii) by deleting the word three andsubstituting the word ten ; and(iii) by deleting the words a term oftwenty-five years to ;(g)in subsection (6) (i) by deleting the words one hundredthousand and substituting thewords three million ;(ii) by deleting the word three andsubstituting the word ten ; and(iii) by deleting the words a term oftwenty-five years to ;(h)in subsection (7) (i) by deleting the words one hundredand fifty thousand and substitutingthe words three million ;(ii) by deleting the word three andsubstituting the word ten ; and(iii) by deleting the words a term ofthirty-five years to.

8 (i)in subsection (7B), by deleting the word fifty and substituting the words sevenhundred and fifty ;(j)in subsection (8) (i) by inserting after the words sub-section (7) , the words andsection 5C ;(ii)by inserting after the words premises of a , the words nursery,kindergarten, day care centre, earlychildhood care and education centre,Children s Home, ; and(k)in subsection (9) (i) in paragraph(d), by deleting theword or ;No. 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment)20197(ii) in paragraph(e), by deletingthe words cannabis resin andsubstituting the words one hundredand sixty-five grammes of cannabisresin; or ; and(iii) by inserting after paragraph(e), thefollowing paragraphs: (f)five grammes or twentytablets of 3, 4 methylene-dioxymethamphetamine(ecstasy) or any drug listedin Schedule I or Schedule IIof the Second Schedule ofthe Act;(g)ten grammes or onehundred and seventysquares of lysergic aciddiethylamide (LSD); or(h)five grammes of ketamine.

9 Act is amended by inserting after section 5, thefollowing sections:5A.(1)Subject to section 5B(2), aperson who smokes or uses cannabis orcannabis resin in a public place commitsan offence and is liable,on summary conviction, to a fine offifty thousand dollars.(2) Where a person who is convictedof an offence under subsection (1) fails oris unable to pay any fine imposed on himunder that subsection, the Court maymake a community service order requiringhim to perform thirty hours of communityservice in accordance with the provisionsof the Community Service Orders 5A, 5B, 5C,5D and 5E inserted Smoking in apublic placeChap. 13:068No. 24 Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) 2019 (3) An owner of, or any person whohas the sole or shared responsibility formanaging, supervising, or regulating theuse of, a public place shall ensure that anyperson who smokes or uses cannabis orcannabis resin in that public place ceaseand desist from such smoking or use andmay remove or evict that person from thepublic place.

10 (4) Notwithstanding anythingcontained in this section, the Ministermay, by Order subject to affirmativeresolution of Parliament , prescribe a list ofapproved public places where the smokingof cannabis or cannabis resin may (1) In this section Clerk and Court have themeanings respectively assignedto those expressions bysection 2 of the SummaryCourts Act; fixed penalty means the penaltyprescribed under subsection (2); fixed penalty notice meansa notice issued under sub-section (3) and includes aduplicate of such notice. proceedings means proceedingsby complaint before aMagistrate; Rules of Court means rules bythe Rules Committee undersection 23 of the SummaryCourts Act .Fixed penaltysystemChap.