Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is moving ahead with plans to raise the age limits for gambling, as well as alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis consumption.
On Wednesday, the Government will bring a Bill entitled, an Act to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act, Chap. 11:25, the Registration of Clubs Act, Chap. 21:01, the Tobacco Control Act, Chap. 30:04, the Children Act, Chap. 46:01, the Liquor Licences Act, Chap. 84:10, the Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Act, 2021 and the Cannabis Control Act, 2022.
The Government will propose to raise the minimum legal age for the sale, purchase, possession or consumption of alcohol and tobacco from 18 years to 21 years, the minimum legal age for the sale, purchase, possession or consumption of cannabis from 18 years to 25 years, and the minimum permissible age with respect to gambling from 18 years to 25 years.
Writing on social media, the Prime Minister says she is “resolute” in her duty to protect and safeguard the young people of Trinidad and Tobago.
She maintained that the indiscriminate use of substances, particularly at an early age, can have grave and far-reaching effects not only on the individual, but also on their families and the wider society.
“It is incumbent upon me, as your Prime Minister, to bring measures that will safeguard the health, welfare and future of our young people, and to enact provisions that will decisively curtail the scourge of substance abuse and the hazards of gambling among them,” she adds.
She says these measures are deliberate and rooted in an unwavering commitment to the health, safety and moral well-being of the nation’s young people.
