Posted: Monday, October 6, 2025. 7:28 pm CST.
By Aaron Humes: The village of Caye Caulker, Belize District, is headed to a referendum on the regulation and legalization of cannabis on the island on Wednesday.
At a briefing held today in Belize City, proponent and village councilor Ilya Rosado stated that the referendum, if passed by a simple majority of the electorate, would trigger the implementation of a consultative work plan agreed upon with residents and approved by the Cabinet, the House of Representatives, and the Senate in that order.
“I want this for the benefit of the community, and really, what I am trying to do is trying to find the revenues that we lack…there’s so many responsibilities that we cannot, as a Council, fulfil because of a lack of resources, and like I said, the perspective from my end is this: we receive $5,000 a month from the Government, it used to be $4,000 but we just managed to lobbied for $5,000; our staff payroll is $6,000 to $7,000 per week,” Councilor Rosado said.
Under the new regime, the Council would control the initial companies, with first preference for shares given to Caye Caulker residents, and tax revenue would be shared 50-50 with the Government. The Council’s portion would be redirected to education, sports, health care and infrastructure initiatives; the Government’s portion would go into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
According to Councilor Rosado, two of the U.S. states with the most tourists visiting Belize are California and Colorado, both states that have legalized cannabis regime. He expects there will be an uptick in tourism, but more importantly, Caye Caulker keeps more of the revenue, which it doesn’t with the tourism industry.
As for how controversial the proposal became, “For me, it’s a simple economic issue, where I see people who work in some of the best resorts in the country go back home to no electricity, no water, and I’m supposed to be responsible for these people. I need to be able to find new solutions because the solutions we have right now are clearly not working,” Councilor Rosado said, adding that he hopes to see La Isla Cariñosa become an example for the rest of Belize.
The regime is expected to be cash-only and subject to an appointed Audit Board and Oversight Association. The former will monitor all transactions, and the latter to maintain regulations. Police presence would be expected to increase, and an increase in standard of living would come along with it, including better housing. An age limit of 21 would be established for consumption, sale and other associated aspects.
The conservative estimate as to how much revenue would be generated is more than $413,000 annually based on a price of $6.75 per gram plus tax. In this scenario, about a quarter of the total population of 2,729 consume cannabis regularly, i.e. 10 grams three times per week, or 979,200 grams per year. If about 17,000 overnight visitors to the island do the same, that would produce another $74,266.87 per year. The model proposes Caye Caulker as the point of origin for all cannabis produced, tested and sold in Belize, meaning that even if only an eighth of the national population or 52,463 – less than the entire population of Belize City – ‘toked’ at the same rate, that would produce an additional $10 million in tax revenues.
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.
© 2025, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.
The post Councilor Ilya Rosado says cash-only weed business on Caye Caulker is strictly about economics; estimates over $400,000 in revenue annually appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Monday, October 6, 2025. 7:28 pm CST. By Aaron Humes: The village of Caye Caulker, Belize District, is headed to a referendum on the regulation
The post Councilor Ilya Rosado says cash-only weed business on Caye Caulker is strictly about economics; estimates over $400,000 in revenue annually appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
