Trudy Simpson, Staff Reporter
Paul Chang
DONALD, A taxi driver, began using ganja at age 10. His introduction to the "weed" was simple -- one day he met a Rastafarian who shared ideas on the faith with him and his friends. Donald, now 43 years old, says he is not a Rastafarian but he enjoys using ganja and believes in Haile Selassie.
"I just liked the smell of it and I just took it and mix it," Donald said. These days, he does not smoke ganja anymore but drinks the tea with coconut milk.
"It give me a nice meditation and a relaxed mood," he said.
Donald is one of about 180,000 Jamaicans who the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) says use ganja in various forms. Locally, ganja is illegal but there are differing opinions on its usage. There are individuals such as Miguel Lorne, a Rasta-farian and attorney-at-law, and Paul Chang, a founding director of the National Alliance for the Legalisation of Ganja, who tout ganja as a medicinal benefactor, culinary contributor, relaxation reward or a holy sacrament.
They are among Jamaicans advocating the decriminalisation of ganja for personal use among adults.
Chang and Lorne argue that current laws which allow the police to prosecute citizens using small amounts of ganja alienate some communities from the police, foster drug trafficking, and ignore the drug's importance as a holy sacrament in Rastafarian religion.
However, detractors label ganja as a "gateway" drug, leading to the use of other narcotics such as cocaine and as a public nuisance.
In spite of the general public perception of ganja as being harmless, data from the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) indicate that it is the main addiction affecting 35,000 Jamaicans - aged 12 to 24. In addition, 2004 data from Reaching Individuals Through Skills and Education's (RISE's) telephone lifeline show that addiction to ganja (whether their own or a loved one's) prompted most help-seeking calls (32 per cent). Most of those affected appeared to be men (93 per cent).
"The calls tell us that it is a problem locally," said Sonita Abrahams, RISE's (formerly Addiction Alert) executive director.
Michael Tucker, NCDA's executive director, said that most ganja users start in their teens but Ms. Abrahams pointed to studies which show that experimentation among younger children (be-tween nine and 10 years old) is growing. Mr. Tucker and Ms. Abra-hams are also concerned about the number of Jamaicans who give their children ganja in some form.
"We have children being given ganja tea with the parents not considering, how it would affect young brains and children's performance," said Mr.Tucker.
Ms. Abrahams said that: "I recognise it is a part of our culture but there is a difference between a 60-year-old drinking ganja tea in the evenings and a 10-year-old drinking it for breakfast. During this period, they (children) are still maturing physically, mentally, psychologically, so anything that is going to impair their ability to make good decisions is problematic."
The health effects of ganja use can be devastating, depending on factors such as a person's mental, physical and psychological make- up, Ms. Abrahams said. She pointed to British Royal College of General Practitioners study which showed that researchers have made a connection between ganja use and rising rates of mental health conditions such as depression, psychosis and schizophrenia. An article in the January 2005, The British Medical Journal, also stated that smoking ganja once or twice per week almost doubled the risk of developing psychotic symptoms later in life.
