Visitor Fined $1,813 For Importation Of Psilocin & Gummies Containing THC. No Conviction Recorded.
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By Alric Lindsay
Dina Wilson, a visitor to the Cayman Islands from the United States, appeared in the Summary Court yesterday, January 14, 2025, to face charges of importation of 10 gummies containing THC and a mushroom containing Psilocin. She pleaded guilty and was fined a total of $1,813. No conviction was recorded.
Background
Summarizing the background of the charges, crown counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said that Wilson arrived in the Cayman Islands on January 8, 2025, on a flight from Newark, New Jersey.
Customs & Border Control officers had reason to search her luggage and found 12 gummies and parts of a mushroom.
When the 12 gummies were tested, 10 were found to contain Delta 9THC, while 2 did not contain any controlled drug,
Wilson was arrested and admitted to possession of the gummies weighing 23.3 grammes.
She explained that she has a prescription and uses the gummies for medical purposes as she suffers from anxiety and depression.
CBC officers also found mushroom parts containing psilocin weighing 0.88 grammes.
Wilson apologised for not knowing it was illegal to come into the Cayman Islands with these drugs.
Sentencing
Arguing on Wilson’s behalf, defence attorney Oliver Grimwood of Samson Law explained that she was on holiday with a group of friends in the Cayman Islands.
Regarding the gummies, she legally purchased them in New York to treat her anxiety.
Reportedly, she also accepted that the mushroom was hers and apologised to CBC officers for bringing the drugs into the Cayman Islands.
Grimwood then noted that before these offences, Wilson was a person of good character. She is also an accountant by trade.
Concerning her profession and the impact of a conviction, Grimwood explained:
There is of course a concern that a conviction that she will have to declare to professional bodies is going to have a serious knock-on effect for her ability to be regulated.
Because as we know, the accountancy profession, in many jurisdictions it is a regulated and licenced profession and this raises serious questions over her ability to continue in that role if a conviction is recorded.
After hearing from crown and defence counsels, the Chief Magistrate gave Wilson an absolute discharge and fined her $813 for the cost of the drug testing.
For the psilocin, the Chief Magistrate fined Wilson $1,000 or 10 weeks in default.
