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Harmless weed or damaging drug? Public Safety Minister David Burch says too many islanders treat marijuana too casually. Helen Jardine and Leah Furbert went out into the streets of Hamilton to find out what the people think.

Stevona Daniels, high school student: 'No, smoking it is not okay. It's frying the brains of the people who use it. It makes them act differently and their personality changes. It's damaging to their health.'

Qian Dickinson, web developer: 'It has its pros and its cons. A con for legalizing it would be that if Bermudians were travelling abroad there might be stiffer travel laws or it might be harder to get a visa to travel to a certain country. I would never advocate using drugs.'

Althea Hayward, associate pastor: 'No. I was born here, I grew up here, but I live in the U.S. As a pastor I have seen the ravages of drug abuse and what it does to families and communities firsthand. It sends our children the wrong message - it tells them there are no boundaries.'

Greg Soares, private banker: 'No. Studies show that there are many detrimental effects to smoking weed. It's hard to point the finger at marijuana as the single reason for our social problems.'

Jahmall Mills, rod buster: 'It's alright worldwide. Both alcohol and weed could hurt your body. Smoking hurts your lungs and drinking hurts your liver. With weed you are more relaxed, you may stay at home and eat, with alcohol you might get into a vehicle accident.'

Nazma Amirali, hairdresser: 'Absolutely not. It interferes with a person's competence. It's not good for those forced to inhale second-hand smoke either - especially children. It's not to blame for our social problems though - there's a lot more going on here than that!'

Burch's outrage over marijuana[[In-content Ad]]

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