By Leonard GildarieIt has long been known that one single incident can be the catalyst for change.Leonard GildarieThe killing of activist Courtney Crum-Ewing earlier this year, I believe, and remain convinced, was one such incident. It sparked a movement that saw widespread anger, and an intolerance and a vow that such an incident should never be repeated. We should never be known as a nation that kills our own because of our views or political inclinations.In the US, there are big topics that politicians zoom in on or stay on the fence,Wholesale China Jerseys, because of how explosive it is. Tobacco and gun legislation, same-sex marriages,China Jerseys For Sale, health insurance and immigrants are but a few. The battles over these critical issues are fast and furious behind the political scenes. There is intense lobbying going on behind the scenes. The reasons are simple. The big spenders behind the political campaigns come from medical insurance companies,Wholesale Jerseys, gun manufactures and oil companies.Recently,China NFL Jerseys, one case came to light in Guyana that has ignited the debate over marijuana laws and the workings of the courts.Fifty-eight year-old Vibert Butts was recently jailed for three years after he was caught with 46 grammes of marijuana. He was also charged with possession of a smoking utensil.Butts claimed in court that he used the marijuana for cultural and medicinal purposes.Butts’ case would have likely have gone unnoticed like so many others. Except for one thing – he is a celebrated sports personality who?scored Guyana’s first World Cup goal against Suriname in 1976.A battery of lawyers has now filed court applications appealing his case, with moves underway to revamp the marijuana laws.I saw Freddie Kissoon saying that had he known that Butts was unrepresented, he would have offered to find the football coach a lawyer.I also saw a Facebook post this week by one of our good lawyers, Ronald Burch-Smith,Cheap Jerseys Store, a Past President of the Guyana Bar Association and while I disagreed with some of his statements, I believe he has hit the nail on the head on some points.His comments, I felt, should be shared:“My friends – Re, Mr. Butts.1. The law is not made by Magistrates. Occasionally Magistrates have made bad sentencing decisions but unless you can show she (or he) has not followed the law or exercised a discretion poorly in a particular instance you are being as stupid as the law you complain about.2. The problem is largely with Parliament and the Executive. Successive governments have failed to have a sensible drug policy. Harsh sentences for low level offenders should change,Jerseys From China, but Magistrate’s are powerless to do so.3. Serious offenders are not being tried in the High Court. There’s no good reason for this policy of the Director of Public Prosecutions for preferring summary trials.4. I understand from people who were actually there – not the media – that Mr. Butts pleaded not guilty and on the advice of cellmates asked to be taken back before the Court to change his sentence. He was told by the Court the consequences of doing so. I’m sorry. A grown man should know better.”People on the streets believe that all is not well with our courts. We have heard of so many cases where the conclusion can be made that the laws are different for the poor.I will not say much today except that there is an urgent need to revamp the laws regarding marijuana.We can’t send people to jail for having a few spliffs. The whole world is moving to legalise it in some form or the other. People maintain that there are medicinal benefits.The Rastafarian community insists that it is part of their culture.We import cigarettes which cause so much harm, yet refuse to move in line with the rest of the world. It is time to adapt.