JAMAICA MAY LIGHTEN UP ON POT USE

WASHINGTON -- Jamaica, long known for producing some of the world's most
potent marijuana, is considering allowing adults to use the drug for
private purposes, Prime Minister Percival James Patterson confirmed Monday.

Jamaica's potential shift in drug strategy follows the path of other
nations, including Canada, which have slackened enforcement of marijuana
laws or reduced penalties.

Jamaica's move would be especially significant because of its proximity to
the United States, bountiful tourism and record as the leading producer of
marijuana in the Caribbean.

A panel set up to study the issue recommended this month decriminalizing
the drug known by Jamaicans as ganja -- a recommendation that Patterson
called "persuasive."

"We are not considering legalizing it in the sense of making it legal for
people to grow, to sell, to export," Patterson said while visiting his
nation's embassy in Washington. "It is for private use, and of course it
will have to be confined to adults."

"Certainly nobody should be coming to Jamaica with the belief that, as a
result of the amendments we would be making, it would be possible for them
to be, you know, indulging in smoking in public places or taking back with
them any of the stuff that they had failed to consume in Jamaica."

U.S. officials have strongly discouraged legalization movements at home and
abroad for fear they would lead to wider drug use. A State Department
official who insisted on anonymity said Monday that Jamaica's move toward
decriminalization would violate a United Nations accord of 1988 designed to
prevent the spread of illegal drugs.

While anti-drug crusaders warn that marijuana is a "gateway" to other
illegal drugs, legalization proponents contend that law-enforcement
resources should focus on more significant crime problems.

Some other nations, particularly in Europe, are softening their marijuana
laws. Canada allows severely ill patients with a doctor's approval to apply
to grow and use marijuana. Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland have removed
or reduced criminal penalties for drug use, and enforcement has been
reduced in many other nations.

Mexican President Vicente Fox has suggested that drugs should eventually be
legalized.

In Jamaica, ganja has long been a cultural symbol associated with some
African-inspired religious beliefs. Widespread use of the drug has made
enforcement more difficult, adding to pressures to legalize it.

Patterson said the Jamaican Parliament will consider the matter at its
autumn session