Tourist Fined $2,000 For Importing Six Ganja Cigarettes Into Cayman Airport. No Conviction Was Recorded.

By Alric Lindsay

Brittany Adams, a tourist travelling from Los Angeles, appeared in the Summary Court today, August 21, 2025, to face a charge of importation of a controlled drug, being six ganja cigarettes.  The Chief Magistrate fined Adams $2,000 and gave her an absolute discharge, with no conviction recorded.

Background

According to Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Adams arrived at Owen Roberts International Airport on August 17, 2025, on a flight from Los Angeles.

Reportedly, when her luggage was searched, an officer discovered a clear plastic bag containing two packets of zigzag wraps and six ganja cigarettes. The total weight was 0.28 ounces.

When asked, Adams reportedly said that she had a prescription for cannabis from 2017, used for anxiety, but could not produce evidence of it.  She explained that cannabis is legal for recreational use in California, where she purchased it.

Arguing on her behalf, Attorney Oliver Grimwood highlighted that Adams was not trying to evade Customs & Border Control officers at the airport, but, instead, was going towards the declaration line to declare car parts she was bringing for a friend in the Cayman Islands.

Grimwood said that when Adams was asked by officers about “other items,” she immediately admitted to possessing what she referred to as “cigarettes.”

Grimwood explained that Adams noted that the ganja cigarettes were meant for medicinal purposes (one per day for her anxiety and ADHD), not recreational use, fitting her past prescription.

Grimwood added that Adams apologised for not checking the local rules, despite being an intelligent, university-educated manager of a large, successful restaurant group (overseeing eight restaurants). Adams fully accepted responsibility for her failure to check regulations and was willing to cover all associated costs (drug testing, court expenses).

Grimwood noted that, while a conviction wouldn’t immediately impact her current job, it would significantly hinder her future career goal of owning and operating her own restaurants, as it would affect her ability to obtain liquor licenses.

Oliver Grimwood of Samson Law Associates

After hearing from the prosecution and defence counsels, the Chief Magistrate said:

I take your very early guilty plea and the fact that you come before this court with no previous convictions.

It is a small amount and I accept your ignorance even though that is not an excuse.

The Chief Magistrate concluded:

In any event though, I must balance justice with equity here and the crime itself.

I give you an absolute discharge with no conviction [is] recorded.

I don’t see what justice will be served to give you a conviction at this stage, but you will pay cost of the crown of $2,000 for 20 weeks in default.

Your passport will be released on payment.

Drugs were ordered forfeited and destroyed.

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