GUIDELINES provided by the United States federal Department of Justice to the states of Washington and Colorado could provide a roadmap for how Jamaica and other nations can adopt similar policies without risking the wrath of the US government, says Director for the Ganja Law Reform Coalition Delano Seiveright.
Seiveright quoted Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) executive director Dr Ethan Nadelmann saying that there is, "...unprecedented praise for the Obama administration, which had proven such a disappointment on drug policy issues during the president's first term but which is at last demonstrating some leadership, with respect to both cannabis policy and the need to reduce America's record breaking rates of incarceration".
"This is of particular significance for Jamaica and other island nations in the Caribbean, considering reform of their ganja policies, who for so long assumed that no change was possible given the US drug war," he quoted.
Seiveright, who recently returned home from the Biennial International Drug Policy Conference put on by the DPA in Denver, Colorado, said that with the international ganja law reform movement picking up momentum, not only in the United States, Europe and Uruguay, but throughout the globe, Jamaica was at a high risk of falling further behind, if it doesn't move to decriminalisation, sooner rather than later.
"We have, in fact, arrived at a tipping point for ganja law reform, with nearly half the states in the United States of America having exemptions for medical cannabis use in addition to decriminalised non-medical cannabis use; noteworthy is that two states, Colorado and Washington legally allow the sale and possession of ganja for both medical and non-medical use," he said.
"There are opportunities for substantial revenue intake from ganja law reform. In all it gives the government leeway to tax, regulate, control and educate about it. The Jamaican government and many of our people would do pretty well, especially from a tourism angle, if we decriminalise.
Beyond that, we cannot ignore first and foremost the human rights component as too many people, especially the poor, in Jamaica have suffered at the hands of harsh laws," Seiveright added.
He pointed out that Dr Nadelmann, who visited Jamaica recently, noted that days before the Colorado conference a new Gallup poll found that 58 per cent of Americans are in favour of legally regulating cannabis, like alcohol. That represented a dramatic 10 per cent increase over the previous year's figures.
Answering questions recently in the Senate from Opposition Senator Robert Montague on the Government's position on decriminalisation, Minister of Justice Mark Golding said that his ministry is positioning itself to seek approval from Cabinet for the decriminalisation of ganja.
Golding said the revised law would permit the possession of small amounts of ganja, about two ounces, for recreational use.
However, he noted that the Attorney General's Department has provided a legal opinion, indicating that Jamaica would have to advance constitutional justification to its international partners for the decriminalisation of marijuana.
Golding explained that Jamaica is a party to at least two international treaties criminalising certain forms of conduct, such as the production, cultivation, sale, and distribution of any narcotic drug or substance.
Jamaica is a party to the United Nations Single Convention of 1961, which requires parties to limit exclusively to medical and scientific purposes, the production, manufacture, export, import, distribution of, trade in, use and possession of drugs.
Last month, the House of Representatives passed a private member's motion calling for the decriminalisation of ganja, following weeks of rigorous debate that saw members on the Government side split on the issue.
North East St Elizabeth Member of Parliament Raymond Pryce moved the motion suggesting that decriminalisation of marijuana was a human-rights issue.
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