The challenge to decriminalise ganja in Jamaica

By Leonardo Blair, Staff Reporter

Half-Way Tree Courthouse. The Resident Magistrate of Court No. 5 looks up from her notes and scrutinises the two young men sitting on a wooden bench.

"Madame Clerk, what are these two young men here for?"

The Clerk fumbles through a huge bundle of files while a husky policeman rouses the young men from their half-sleep. A strong whiff of ganja smoke floats up from the bench as the young men stand at attention. The Clerk proclaims the charges. Both men are charged with possession of less than one ounce of ganja. One of them pleads 'guilty'. He gets fined $100 or 10 days. The other pleads 'not guilty.' He goes to trial. He may be incarcerated.

Five other young men with the familiar smell of weed soon fill the bench made empty by the last two. The Resident Magistrate repeats the routine.

Last month, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry, suggested that Parliament takes another look at legalising ganja. His view was strongly opposed by a political opponent.

He argued that the level of financial reward that drugs generate was due to the illegal status conferred upon it. It generates so much revenue he said, governments find themselves helpless to combat it on the streets. The opposition MP suggested that the House of Representatives discuss the 'controlled legalisation' of the drugs to remove the premium.

People's National Party (PNP) backbencher, Arthur Nelson (West Central) is reported to have said: "Ganja is not a good thing. I don't care what anybody wants to say."

Meanwhile, ganja vendors have been doing brisk business with the weed in places such as North Parade in Kingston "right under the nose of the police".

Two months ago Professor Barry Chevannes, chairman of the National Commission on ganja, reported that "it may be deduced so far that most persons and organisations would support the decriminalisation of the use of ganja for private purposes and in private spaces."

Some persons who appeared before the commission however preferred to, "maintain the status quo regarding the criminal status of ganja in Jamaica".

As the debate rages on however, it is clear, that somewhere along the line the main objective of the Government in this case - to win the war on drugs - appears to be thwarted.

Despite Jamaica theoretical 'zero tolerance' on drugs, the number of persons arrested by the police for possession of ganja has climbed from 6,703 in 1998 to 7,804 in the year 2000. Almost 3,000 persons have already been charged with possession of ganja since the start of this year. The vast majority of those arrested are men. Has any room been made for counterproduction?

Britain, which once boasted a similar 'zero tolerance' on drugs, has forged ahead with a revolutionary experiment to effectively 'decriminalise' ganja in the London borough of Lambeth. Arguably for the greater good.

Earlier this month, it was reported in The Sunday Times that "instead of arresting cannabis users, officers in Lambeth will confiscate the drug and give a 'formal warning' on the spot. This will not result in a criminal record."

The police there argue that their time would be better served trying to get rid of those persons involved with the use of hard drugs. They say that by just confiscating the drug and giving a formal warning it would save the police up to "10 man-hours per arrest."

If the project is successful after it is evaluated at the end of the year said the newspaper, "it 'may well' be adopted across the whole Metropolitan police area."

Other countries in Europe such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland have all at least qualitatively allowed the consumption of cannabis for personal use. In the Netherlands there are more than 800 licensed coffee shops that participate in the sale of cannabis for personal use.

Advocates for the legalisation of cannabis in Britain have speculated that "a gleam of common sense is breaking through from politicians about pot."

There are also now contradicting arguments about the damaging effects of ganja which were being used in drug awareness campaigns internationally. While it was argued that ganja was a gateway drug that lead users to move on to other drugs, British officials like anti-drug co-ordinator Keith Hellawell has since qualified his stance. He said that because studies done in New Zealand which shows that cannabis smokers are 60 times more likely to get involved in harder drugs it doesn't necessary follow that every cannabis user will move on to harder drugs.

The question which remains however is, can such and experiment be carried out here in Jamaica?

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