A landmark ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice has set a higher bar for jailing offenders in minor cannabis cases, overturning a three-month sentence and signalling a shift towards non-custodial penalties in Barbados.

The country’s final appellate tribunal on Tuesday unanimously quashed a jail sentence imposed by the lower courts on convicted drug offender Danny Lamar Husbands, ruling that the custodial penalty was unjustified given the circumstances of the offence.

The judges ruled: “Having considered the statutory framework, the circumstances of the offence, and the relatively small quantity of cannabis involved, the court was not satisfied that the offence crossed the custodial threshold. We therefore held that the custodial sentence was unjustified and allowed the appeal.”