The Bahamas Weekly reported that two U.S. cruise passengers were arrested at the port in Nassau for possession of marijuana on Wednesday.
The Bahamian newspaper reported:
"Two adult American females from North Carolina are in custody after they was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs on Wednesday 22nd June 2016.
According to reports, shortly after 10:00am, officers from the Tourism Policing Unit acting on intelligence went to a cruise ship moored at Prince George Wharf, where they found the suspects in possession of a quantity of marijuana. The female suspects were taken into custody and are expected to appear in court sometime today to be formally charged."
I suppose that there are readers saying these two women got what they deserved, but being busted for a few marijuana joints meant for your personal consumption is no different than having a few drinks of booze that the cruise lines will be pleased to sell you with a little umbrella on top. I suppose that’s the difference, that the cruise lines frown on pot consumption because they can’t make any money on it. Cruise line make literally hundreds of millions of dollars a year selling cruise booze.
You can get hammered on the cruise ships and the cruise lines look the other way. You can come back from Senor Frog’s in Nassau knee-walking-drunk and the security guards will let you on the ship with a smirk. But a tote of the evil weed on your balcony and your cruise neighbors complain will result in the security officer placing a call to their friends in the Bahamas resulting in the "tourism police" in Nassau arresting you in your cabin.
We have written about this scam many times but the game is always he same – this crime-ridden, poverty stricken little island looks at U.S. cruise passengers as easy targets. Nassau "tourism police" will be more than pleased to haul you from the It’s-better-In-the-Bahamas cruise before a Bahamian magistrate who will shake you down for a few thousand U.S. dollars or a threat of 30 days in jail.
If you are unfortunate to get caught smoking a joint here in Miami, few cops will take the time to arrest you but, worst case scenario, you may pay a small fine or enter into a diversion program. But in Nassau, you will get harassed to buy pot or coke the second you walk down the gangway and if you have a few grams of pot back in the cruise ship’s cabin safe, you are still screwed. It’s all about how many U.S. dollars that the Bahamian "justice’" department, overwhelmed by violent crime, can keep in its pockets from U.S. cruise passengers foolish enough to cruise there.
Interested in the issue? Read: The Predatory "Sweet Spot" – Bahamian Tourism Police Arrest U.S. Cruise Tourist for Pot Possession; High Times in Nassau Will Cost You $500 or 2 Months in Her Majesty’s Prison; Reefer Madness: Bahamas Magistrate Taunts & Shakes Down Royal Caribbean Potheads.
Photo Credit: TampAGS, for AGS Media – CC BY-SA 3.0.