JAMAICA SHOULD OK MARIJUANA, GROUP URGES

'Ganja' Commission Wants Drug Legalized

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Marijuana is as much a part of Jamaica's culture
as reggae and Blue Mountain coffee, and a national group wants it to
become just as legitimate.

The aptly named National Commission for Ganja -- the Hindi word for
marijuana -- recommended last week that the government legalize the
private use and possession of small amounts of marijuana. Between 20
percent and 40 percent of the country's 2.6 million people are
believed to smoke marijuana, many openly.

Not everyone is happy, however.

"It is a welcome step, but it is far short for a country where
thousands of people use ganja," said Paul Burke, a high-ranking member
of the ruling People's National Party. "It's part of the culture."

It is by no means certain that Jamaica will change its marijuana laws
- -- several top government officials have already voiced their emphatic
disagreement -- but the commission's suggestion to legalize the
substance is part of a growing clamor throughout the hemisphere to
ease strictures against it.

Restrictions Easing

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend this weekend's Seattle
Hempfest, billed as the largest pot-legalization rally in history. The
Hawaii Legislature has approved the medical use of marijuana, and
voters in eight states have done the same. The Canadian government
last month approved medical use of marijuana.

The United States is watching warily to see whether Jamaica's
Parliament will adopt the commission's recommendations. Jamaica, a
major producer and exporter of marijuana, could risk losing U.S.
certification -- and millions of dollars in American foreign aid -- if
Washington decides the island is no longer cooperating in the war on
drugs.

Richard Smyth, the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica,
made clear Washington's longstanding position on the issue.

"The U.S. administration does not support the decriminalization of
marijuana use," he said. "Whenever Washington reviews the
certification issue, they look at a broad range of issues, including
interdiction, demand reduction, seizures of drugs, the legal structure
and law enforcement efforts in general."

Law Rarely Enforced

Possession of marijuana is illegal in Jamaica, but the law is rarely
enforced and penalties are light. Members of the Rastafarian religion
use it openly as part of their ceremonies.

The ganja commission wants to formalize what has amounted to
governmental benign neglect. In its report, the commission said that
used in small amounts, ganja caused no short-or long-term health
effects. Penalizing individuals for small quantities of marijuana is
"unjust" and discredits the entire Jamaican legal system, the report
said.

"Ganja offenses have clogged up the court system for years and
diverted the police from the real problems, which are crack and
cocaine," said Burke, a member of the National Alliance for
Legalization, a lobby group. "That's the real threat of Jamaica."

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson set up the commission nine months ago.
Its members -- physicians and academics -- traveled around the island,
gauging sentiment.

The commission said children should be barred from using marijuana and
its public use should remain illegal. It also said, however, that the
use of marijuana in religious ceremonies should be allowed.

R. Keith Stroup, executive director of NORML, the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, was delighted by the
Jamaican commission's recommendations, which he said mirror those from
the U.S. Commission on Marijuana back in 1972.

Several European countries, Stroup said, already have decriminalized
marijuana.

"The U.S. is acting as if this commission's recommendation is unique,"
he said. "It's only the U.S. that has maintained this silly war on
drugs."