Caye Caulker Cannabis Referendum Faces Cost and Legal Hurdles Ahead

With the community of Caye Caulker having met the required threshold to trigger a referendum on legalizing and taxing cannabis exclusively for the island, there could be a long road ahead towards a referendum.  The petition, which has been submitted to the Governor-General, will now initiate a specific legal process to determine if a referendum will be held.  Love News understands that before the Governor General issues a writ for a referendum, the government would have to look at several factors including the cost it would incur and whether the result would be binding.  The cost of a referendum in Belize is a significant factor. A past national public education campaign and referendum, such as the one to decide on taking the territorial dispute with Guatemala to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was estimated to cost around nine million Belize dollars. While a local referendum for Caye Caulker would be considerably less, the cost would remain a key consideration for the government.  Belize has held a few referendums in its history. The most recent and notable was the 2019 referendum on the territorial dispute with Guatemala, where citizens voted to refer the matter to the ICJ.