US WORRIED AS JAMAICA RETHINKS MARIJUANA STANCE

Washington Has Attacked Moves Towards Decriminalisation, Saying The Island
Could Be Penalised

Awaiting a bus in the noisy and bustling square at Half Way Tree in
Kingston, Winston Italman Ramsay takes a philosophical view of a current
controversy sweeping Jamaica.

"This is prophecy come true," said Mr Ramsay, a Rastafarian, reacting to
the recommendations of a government-appointed commission that criminal
penalties be abolished for the use of marijuana in private by adults. "This
is also common sense."

Mr Ramsay's view conflicts with that of the US administration, which has
attacked the "decriminalisation" of marijuana and suggested Jamaica could
be penalised if it followed this course.

The parliament of the English-speaking island of 2.5m people will vote on
the recommendations of the commission amid indications that use of
marijuana by adults in private will be allowed. "The recommendations of the
commission are very persuasive," said P.J. Patterson, the prime minister.
"Clearly we are not considering making it legal for people to grow, sell
and to export marijuana. It is for private use and it will have to be
confined to adults."

Marijuana, known locally as ganja, has long been controversial on the
island that is a big producer and one of the biggest sources of the drug
smuggled to the US. On the back of this trade, in recent years the island
has become an important transhipment point of cocaine being trafficked from
South America to North America and Europe. The local police have attributed
a steady increase in organised and violent crime to drug smuggling.

The use of marijuana, including smoking the drug, is a criminal offence in
the island. There has been frequent tension between the police and Mr
Ramsay's colleagues in the Rastafarian sect, who regard marijuana smoking
as part of their religious rites.

"Administering the present laws as they apply to possession and use of
small quantities of marijuana not only puts an unbearable strain on the
relationship of the police with the communities, in particular the male
youth, but also ties up the justice system and the work of the police, who
could use their time to much greater advantage in the relentless pursuit of
crack/cocaine trafficking," the commission said.

"The prosecution of simple possession for personal use itself diverts the
justice system from what ought to be a primary goal, namely the suppression
of the criminal trafficking in substances, such as crack/cocaine, that are
ravaging urban and rural communities with addiction and corrupting
otherwise productive people," it added.

The commission also recommended public education programmes to reduce
demand, targeting mainly young people, and the intensification of
interdiction of large-scale marijuana cultivation and trafficking of all
illegal drugs.

The US has reacted definitively to the commission's recommendations. "The
US administration opposes the decriminalisation of marijuana use," was the
blunt reply of Michael Koplovsky, a spokesman for the US embassy in
Kingston. "The US government will consider Jamaica's adherence to its
commitments under the 1988 UN Drug Convention when making its determination
under the annual narcotics certification review."

The US maintains that decriminalisation is not in keeping with Jamaica's
obligations under a United Nations convention against trafficking in
narcotics. Jamaican officials say that the implication of the US statement
is possible de-certification of the island as a country making efforts to
combat narcotics trafficking.

De-certification could lead to a reduction or suspension of US financial
assistance to Mr Patterson's economically embattled administration, and
efforts to similarly reduce assistance from international financial
institutions such as the World Bank, the officials said.

"If the US government has concerns about the report, it should talk to us
about it," said Stafford Neil, permanent secretary in the foreign affairs
ministry. "The Jamaican government has not yet decided whether it will
accept or reject the recommendations."

In private, however, the official reaction is stronger. The US position is
regarded by some officials as an unacceptable threat, intended to force the
country's legislators into following the US's wishes.

"This is a matter that will be decided by the Jamaican parliament and the
island's sovereign parliament will not be swayed by any external threats,"
a senior government official said. "Jamaica is a major exporter and trading
in marijuana will continue to be a crime. The US is the major consumer and
the US should attempt to curb demand at their end."

The opposition is taking a moderate approach. The commission's report
should not be dismissed, said Oswald Harding, foreign affairs spokesman of
the main opposition Labour party. Jamaica's international obligations as
well as delicate relations with the US on the issue would have to be taken
into consideration, he said.

Attitudes in the debate are conditioned by many influences. Older,
conservative and strongly religious Jamaicans consider it not such a good
thing. "My parents say that allowing people to smoke ganja freely is the
work of the devil," said Sherie McDonald, a 24-year-old Kingston secretary.
"It does not matter to me. I do not do it but I have friends who smoke at
home without any problems from the police."

For his part Mr Ramsay, a bartender, regards the move towards
decriminalisation as "a great victory for religious freedom".