Activists Gather Signatures For Cannabis Legalization Vote In Belize
Back in May 2025, cannabis advocates in Caye Caulker, Belize, launched a petition seeking to place an adult-use cannabis legalization measure on an upcoming local ballot. Caye Caulker is a small island off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea.
The petition, led by Caye Caulker Village Councillor Ilya Rosado, needed to collect hundreds of signatures from registered voters to place it on the ballot in an upcoming election. Organizers were aiming for the Village Council elections on June 29, 2025, and missed that deadline, although they may have succeeded in getting it in front of voters in October 2025.
“The group, Legalize It Caye Caulker, has secured a major victory in its push for legislation to create a responsible, regulated, and taxable legal cannabis industry. The group’s petition aimed at triggering a referendum on marijuana legalization has been certified as successful by the Elections and Boundaries Department. The petition garnered 365 approved signatures, surpassing the required threshold of 25% of registered electors.” reported LoveFM in its local coverage.
“In a letter to Governor General Dame Froyla Tzalam, on July 31, the department stated that out of the 1,360 registered electors in Caye Caulker Village, 25% or 340 signatures were needed to validate the petition. A total of 380 signatures were submitted, and after a thorough review, 365 were approved, accounting for 26.84% of the total registered electors.” the outlet also reported.
When voters in Caye Caulker get the chance to vote on the petition, they will be asked, “Should the Government of Belize pass legislation to create a responsible, regulated, and taxable legal cannabis industry on the island of Caye Caulker, with a portion of the revenue going directly for the benefit of Caye Caulker and its residents?”
If the vote is held and the measure is approved, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will become law automatically, even at a local level. Leadership from the Belize Ministry of the Public Service, Constitutional and Political Reform and Religious Affairs has already pushed back on the measure since it will be a local vote on a national issue.
“We have national laws. We don’t have laws that are specific to areas, to regions, and so on. And so certainly there is a school of thought that’s saying that a local election can only deal with local issues. It should not deal with national issues.” stated Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Governance. “We certainly will have to be guided by the attorney general. As I said, these are national issues that would have to be looked at, looking at national laws, looking at the national budget and so on. And so the attorney general will have to advise the government on the way forward.”