Lead Editor-Politics
Identification cards will have to be produced to buy alcohol and tobacco, possess cannabis and enter gambling establishments under amendments the Government plans to add to its sweeping legislation raising the legal ages for those activities.
Attorney General John Jeremie announced the new requirement while piloting the Miscellaneous Provisions (Alcohol, Cannabis, Dangerous Drugs, Gambling and Tobacco) Bill, 2026, in the House of Representatives yesterday.
Jeremie disclosed the proposed changes just before taking Parliament through the bill clause by clause.
“There are some amendments coming. I am moving an amendment to include vaping and I am also moving an amendment to require the use of IDs, in respect of the purchase of tobacco, in respect of possession of cannabis, in respect of entry into gambling establishments and in respect to the purchase of alcohol,” Jeremie said.
Up to press time, however, Guardian Media understands the proposed amendments had not been circulated to Opposition members of the House.
Guardian Media asked Jeremie whether the amendment would make identification mandatory as part of those transactions and activities regardless of a person’s age, meaning, for example, that anyone purchasing alcohol or tobacco would have to produce an ID, rather than only someone whose age was in doubt.
Jeremie replied during the debate and said the Bill is still being interrogated in Parliament and the questions would be answered during the debate.
Under current law, the burden and legal obligation rest on the vendor.
The amendment comes amidst a much broader mandatory identification proposal being considered by the Government.
In August, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander confirmed that a Cabinet sub-committee was examining a proposal to require citizens aged 16 and over to possess valid identification in public.
Alexander said then that the proposal had not become law and invited public feedback. He also linked the idea to enforcement of the Government’s plans to increase the permissible ages for alcohol, cannabis and gambling.
Yesterday, the Attorney General spent much of his presentation defending the Government’s decision to impose different age limits even though the legal age of adulthood remains 18.
“The question, therefore, is not whether an 18-year-old is an adult,” Jeremie said. “The question is whether reaching adulthood, the age of majority, by definition confers an automatic, identical, legal entitlement to every substance and every activity that society regulates.”
Jeremie said the policy was not confined to protecting children and adolescents but extended to what he described as the developmental stage of “emerging adulthood,” spanning ages 18 to 25.
He said biological and psychological development continues during that period and can influence judgement, decision-making and long-term well-being.
Jeremie argued that early exposure to alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and gambling could increase the likelihood of dependence, harmful patterns of use, injury and other lasting consequences.
Citing United Nations Population Fund projections for 2025, he said approximately 285,000 people, or 19 per cent of Trinidad and Tobago’s estimated 1.5 million population, were between ten and 24.
“We cannot, on this side, sit idly by while nearly one-fifth of our nation’s human capital is compromised,” he said.
Jeremie also relied on comparisons with other jurisdictions to argue that governments already impose restrictions on regulated products beyond the general age of majority.
For alcohol, he cited the United States, where the minimum legal drinking age is 21, telling Parliament that research showed a reduction in motor vehicle crashes after the higher threshold was adopted.
He also pointed to Lithuania, which raised its minimum purchasing age for alcohol from 18 to 20, and Sri Lanka, where the legal purchase age for alcohol and nicotine is 21.
On tobacco, Jeremie cited Singapore, which progressively increased its minimum legal age to 21, and the United States, which raised its federal minimum sales age for tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 21 in 2019.
Jeremie noted that US retailers are required to use photo identification to verify the age of anyone under 30 attempting to purchase covered tobacco products.
For cannabis, Jeremie relied in part on the Caricom Regional Commission on Marijuana, noting that regional leaders had been advised that cannabis use before age 24 was not recommended because of potential effects on memory, learning and attention.
“The House would note that in the legislation that we have put before the House today, we have roughly followed the Caricom age model,” he said.
The Bill would make 25 the threshold for possessing cannabis within permissible quantities and cultivating up to four plants.
On gambling, Jeremie cited Georgia, where the age of majority is 18 but citizens under 25 are prohibited from entering gambling establishments to gamble or participating in electronically organised gambling.
The Bill also goes beyond changing age limits, proposing substantially higher penalties for numerous offences involving alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and gambling and introducing fixed-penalty notices for several breaches.
It would extend criminal liability to people between 18 and 20 for the use or possession of alcohol or tobacco and to those between 18 and 24 for the use or possession of cannabis or dangerous drugs.
Jeremie said the Government had considered the constitutionality of the proposed measures and concluded they were “necessary,” “proportionate” and pursued legitimate aims.
He acknowledged that drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco and gambling responsibly were legitimate choices but said individual freedoms must be balanced with responsibility.
“These are legitimate choices, yet those choices must never jeopardise the well-being of our young people or compromise public safety,” he said.
Jeremie said the clauses collectively sought to safeguard minors and young adults, strengthen public health protections and ensure penalties were commensurate with the gravity of offences.
“The Bill therefore is not merely a legislative adjustment,” Jeremie said.
“It is a declaration of principle that Trinidad and Tobago will act decisively to protect its young people, to strengthen its communities and to uphold the values of responsibility and care that bind us together as a people.”
