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—Bill published and ready for Parliament Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday signalled his intention to meet with his Members of ParliamentOpposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeoand PPP members to discuss the new Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015. This new piece of legislation was drafted by Nigel Hughes and Mark Waldron.This comes in the wake of the imprisonment of former national footballer turned coach, Vibert Butts, by a city Magistrate for the possession of marijuana. Butts has since appealed his conviction and sentence.Jagdeo and Hughes were in conversation yesterday afternoon about the content and tabling of the Bill, which is expected to relax the mandatory marijuana conviction. Jagdeo said that he was in possession of a copy of the Bill and will be reviewing it with the Opposition Members of Parliament.However, he stated that he was not prepared to disclose his thoughts on the content of the Bill at the moment.Hughes remained tight-lipped on who will be tabling the Bill. He did, however, indicate that the public will know soon.He said that he will be meeting with the Opposition MPs and the Minister of Public Health to debate on the amendment. Hughes is calling for the support of all political parties.“I hope all the political parties will have a conscience to vote in favour of the legislation,” he told Kaieteur News yesterday.The law stipulates that anyone found in possession of marijuana is liable to a fine of $10,000 or three times the monetary value of the drug. If in excess of 15 grams of cannabis it is mandated that the offender should be sentenced to a minimum of three years’ imprisonment.“As a service provider in the legal profession since the current legislation was enacted in 1988, the social carnage which has been generated as result of this Act is simply horrendous,” he charged.He said that the national situation at that time led to the adoption of this “foreign prescriptive legislation”. He stated that the country was bankrupt and was seeking to secure international fiscal aid.Vibert Butts“We have witnessed too many daughters and sons’ lives ruined as a result of their incarceration whether on remand or pursuant to a sentence. Perhaps the time has come for us to take responsibility for having unjust, cruel and unusual penalties for possession of cannabis,” he insisted.According to the draft legislation, the Act which amends the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Control Act 1988 may be cited as the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act 2015.The Bill is founded on the experience of several citizens—predominantly youths who have been incarcerated for small quantities of cannabis or cannabis resin, and who as a result of their incarceration have been unnecessarily economically and socially disadvantaged.Additionally, it stated that many of these young people who were remanded and incarcerated have been exposed to persons who have been accused of and have been involved in much more serious violent offences.“The social intercourse and interaction afforded by the incarceration has resulted in regrettable contamination and education of many young persons in criminal behavior and anti social tendencies,” the Explanatory Memorandum read.It added that the proposed amendments will remove the mandatory imprisonment of persons who have been accused of having in their possession relatively small amounts of cannabis and cannabis resin whilst increasing the quantity which will constitute trafficking in cannabis or cannabis resin to one thousand grams.The Bill is expected to be tabled on December 17, when Parliament sits for the last time in 2015.Meanwhile, Butts was released around 15:30 hours yesterday. His bail was set at $550,000—$450,000 for the possession of marijuana and another $100,China Jerseys Cheap,000 for having in his possession marijuana utensils.The bulk of money secured for his release came from his family and the Benschop Foundation.An unrepresented Butts had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge. But he later changed his plea and begged for leniency, insisting that he only used marijuana for medicinal purposes.Nonetheless, he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, along with a one-year prison term for another offence.He was granted bail in the High Court by Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang after his lawyers, Hughes and Waldron, filed the appeal.“I don’t mind standing the consequence of this injustice again since it is bringing change,” an elated Butts told Kaieteur News last evening. He said that the criminalisation of people, especially youths, for possession of a small “joint” was destroying the future of the country.“They destroy our youths by sending them to prison for smoking a few grams of weed. I never had any brush with the law. I was never imprisoned before until I was charged with marijuana possession,” he said.Recalling the day he was sentenced, Butts stated that he felt grave injustice at the hands of the judicial system. He described his days in prison as a literal “hell-hole.”“I saw things I never dreamed I would see… hundreds of men in one room, people sleeping in a ceiling…unsanitary conditions. I was living in a hell hole,” he lamented, stating that he was happy to be out.Butts is calling on the legislature of Guyana to amend the current Act since it is only “making soft people hard core criminals”.He commended the move by Hughes and Waldron to draft a new legislation, stating that they were on the right track to protecting the people and youths of the country. “This should have been done a long time ago,” he posited.He added that the politicians need to prove that they have the interest of the youths at heart. “They need to support this Bill,” he said.Public Health Minister, Dr. George Norton, on Sunday stated that in-depth consideration must be given to the Bill along with widespread consultation. However, he stated that the legalisation of marijuana smoking would fly in the face of the anti-tobacco legislation, which will be tabled next year.However, Hughes disagrees with Norton’s notion; he stated that such legislation would not need consultation since “the evidence is clear that it does more harm than good”.Butts is one of many persons who was charged and remanded to prison for possession of small amounts of marijuana.