Edu. Minister says vendors who sold drug-tainted sweets should be banned from operating near schools

As for the Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, he says that vendors who were in possession of the drug-tainted sweets should not be allowed to operate near schools. Yesterday, a school warden from St. Luke’s Methodist School alleged that the vendors sold the packets despite knowing they were laced with marijuana. The issue is being investigated by police to determine whether the persons should face criminal charges. However, there is the fact that the sweets were found at the dump among a gargantuan pile of trash and sold to children. Minister Fonseca says while he supports all local vendors, he believes these persons should be relocated.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education: “They have a responsibility as vendors especially when you’re selling to children to school age children these kids were between five and fifteen, you’re selling to them you have a special responsibility as a vendor to ensure that the product you’re selling to them is safe. So I don’t want us to lose that element of it at all it’s a very important question. That element of responsibility that lies with the person selling the product just like when we go to any store as adults we go to any store and we pay our money for a product we expect that we will get what we’re paying for and it can’t be you know if you’re buying a soft drink or something you buy a coke and half of it is water you wouldn’t accept that. So in the same way when kids are buying gummies they expect that they’re getting a safe product. So they should not at all be allowed to continue selling as vendors to students. If they want to sell as vendors on Albert Street or somewhere to the general public that is something else they have go through a proper process but in terms of our children absolutely not. They should not be allowed. They had these gummies there even if you say this is not for children this is for adults why do you have it on your cart there at school where some mistake could easily be made. As far as I’m aware the investigation isn’t complete so I don’t want to speculate but I take your word for it. If that’s the case that’s even worse I mean and that obviously then exposes them to criminal liability in my view, criminal liability and so absolutely there would be no question if they knew that this product was tainted with marijuana and they still were selling it to the public, selling it to children they absolutely would lose any right at all to serve as a vendor in our country.”