Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS): Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Marsha Henderson, said that this year’s St. Kitts Music Festival will be a 420-friendly festival if the second reading of the Smoking (Designated Areas) Bill, 2023 is passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday, June 20.
“We will have an Act once it is passed for designation of certain public areas as smoking areas for which the Warner Park stadium on the mound will be what we call the smokers’ lounge,” she said at a press conference on June 19 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
This will be a groundbreaking initiative for the Federation as new barriers surrounding the live music industry will be set.
“Preparing of course in the Ministry of Tourism as the music festival is a part of the overall tourism product as we prepare for the market of cannabis tourism which has the potential to stimulate the local tourism economy and create a niche in the tourism industry,” said Minister Henderson.
“Of course, the first major music festival in the OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States) is our music festival here in St. Kitts and we are happy to embrace a cannabis-friendly festival environment,” she said.
The Minister stated, however, that the cannabis should be pre-rolled before the event.
She said, “More and more of the world’s top festivals are now cannabis friendly and the time is right for us to work towards normalizing the use of cannabis so that it is no longer seen as taboo or unacceptable.”
She added that on June 20, the government will champion the Bill and would be passing legislation to give effect to the Ras Sankofa Maccabbee case where the local courts recognized the freedom of conscience and belief for the citizens of the Federation.
“It is in fact enshrined in the Constitution and as a government, we have a responsibility to put mechanisms in place whereby we can acknowledge the rights of our citizens,” said Minister Henderson.