'Weed' as medicine, sacrament By Garnet Gibson, Contributor MANY WILL admit that Jamaica is famous for tourism, reggae music, track and fields and cricket. However, only a few will add ganja to that mix. Foreigners certainly think that we are all here smoking ganja and hanging out under palm trees. On a weekly basis, there is always someone asking me about ganja and its availability in Jamaica. People want to know if I had tried it, others want to know if it is legal and yet others presuppose that I must have smoked it and that it is indeed legal to do so in Jamaica. So Jamaica is already considered a land of ganja and unfortunately for me, ganja smokers! Many studies have been done on the use of ganja for recreational purposes, and its effect on the user. Studies have also been done on other use of the weed. This includes its medicinal uses and also its use in fashion. Countries like the United States are debating the use of ganja by AIDS patients and other terminally ill individuals. It seems to be generally accepted that ganja is a powerful weed, worthy of the attention it now receives from activists, politicians, and medical experts in Canada, USA, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The decision by the Barry Chevannes-led Ganja Commission to recommend the legalisation of ganja for personal and religious use will no doubt be controversial, but it is not as outlandish as some may believe, neither is it a given as other may think. The United States is presently deeply engaged in a debate relating to the use of the drug for medicinal purposes. The Institute of Medicine in that country has for many years reported that marijuana does have therapeutic value for "pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting and appetite stimulation". Indeed, many Jamaicans can attest to the appetite-stimulating effect of ganja, as "users try to eat down the whole house". The AIDS epidemic is maybe the most significant boost for "acceptable" marijuana use worldwide. Voters in at least seven US states have found it too difficult to listen to AIDS sufferers extols the virtues of marijuana, without doing something about it. The voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have taken their concern to the voting room and have all voted in favour of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The official US federal government policy on the matter is that the weed is dangerous and should not be decriminalized, even for medicinal purposes. The report submitted by the Institute of Medicine, which was asked to examine the issue by the Clinton White House was maybe more pro-marijuana than the White House would have liked. It warned however that smoking ganja might cause respiratory disease. In true American spirit, the Institute called for the development of standardised forms of the drug. In other words, the Institute is asking for the packaging of the weed in pill, capsule or maybe even liquid forms. This ganja branding will certainly provide significant wealth for the pharmaceutical companies; just imagine 'Bayer Ganja', 'Glaxo Weed', 'Vicks Ganja Inhaler' etc. - It could really put a new 'flavour' on the ganja debate. The cannabinoids alongside the Excedrin! The argument of course is that the medicinal benefits of ganja are compromised by the fact that the user must inhale harmful smoke. Rastas will have a serious problem with that, as many seems to revel in the smoke much more than the weed! A Nyabinghi session without ganja smoke is not even conceivable. Jamaica will be hard pressed to convince the US to reverse its opposition, or even to reduce the tone of that opposition. The US, even after receiving the pro-ganja report from the Institute of Medicine, continues to oppose ganja use for medicinal purposes. On May 14 this year, the US Supreme Court decided overwhelmingly against the use of marijuana for any purpose, including medicine.
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