“Madagascar and Reunion have two particularities in common: cannabis is everywhere and people can consume it at affordable prices. In the Seychelles where cannabis is strictly forbidden and its consumption severely punished, brown sugar is starting to devastate the island…” Just like Mauritius, he could have added. In spite of appearances, Percy Yip Tong, interviewed by l’express a few days ago, was not trying to make an apology for drugs. He was only “stating facts”, as he likes to put it himself.

And facts are indeed showing a frightening reality: “Brown sugar is the n°1 problem in Mauritius. It is even more serious than the economic situation. Brown sugar consumption has been rising constantly over the past 20 years,” he insisted. And he went even further, “A dose of brown sugar – of the lowest quality – costs Rs 200. There are 20,000 registered drug addicts in Mauritius. If each of them buys one dose every day – which is the minimum – that makes Rs 4 million a day. Rs 120 million a month. Rs 1,4 billion a year. So with a minimum consumption of one dose a day, we are already speaking of a parallel economy.”

So, there we are. Drugs are not only a social problem but tend to constitute a major economic problem as well. Here is one more reason to finally face the problem of drugs in Mauritius and tackle it at its roots. What Percy Yip Tong may suggest is that when cannabis is no longer available, the biggest consumers will not stop taking drugs but will simply swap to harder ones – worse for their health and for the country’s economy. I am certainly not saying that cannabis should be available in abundance in Mauritius; I am not even saying that it should be legalised. I am only saying its depenalisation should be at least considered.

The problem in Mauritius is that people like to be blinkered. They like to think that we live in a paradise island where no one takes drugs and where the social atmosphere is problem-free. But then, reality suddenly catches up with dreams. And we find the name of our wonderful country on the list of the United Nations as the third country in the whole world for hard drug consumption.

So, while taking off our blinkers, we should also accept that people smoke cannabis. Even though our MPs appear shocked and outraged each time there is a concert where cannabis is openly passed around, we all know this is true. Cannabis is a drug and can be dangerous to the health, I agree. Its trafficking should undeniably be severely punished.

But the “statement” of Percy Yip Tong deserves reflection. Countries appearing less severe against cannabis consumers – I insist, consumers, not dealers – are the ones who have the lowest rate of brown sugar consumption. Instead of appearing shocked by the mere fact that there are cannabis smokers in Mauritius, our leaders should at least stop and reflect on the possibilities available to get our name off the list of the biggest drug consumers of the world.