JAMAICA: SEARCHING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO MARIJUANA PRODUCTION

ST. ANN, Jamaica, (Jul. 13) IPS - With its picture post-card scenery and
beautiful nature spots, St. Ann, situated on the northern section of the
island, is known for many things.

It is often referred to as the garden parish of Jamaica, and a tourist's
haven. But for many years it has also gained the reputation as the
marijuana capital of the island.

Now with government's renewed effort at bringing an end to the lucrative
drug trade, and with law enforcement officers hot on the trail of those who
continue to flout the law and cultivate marijuana, the parish is slowly
fading to become a mere ghost of its former self.

The once affluent parish which boasted a booming construction industry, now
languishes in poverty.

More than 85 percent of the marijuana trade has been destroyed, leaving
farmers with no alternative (crop), they say.

In June, police seized 150,000 kgs of compressed marijuana in the parish,
while they destroyed another two hectares. This activity is becoming a
regular occurrence. Most of the marijuana which is grown and processed here
is exported to the United States.

"Something needs to be done to ease the current economic uncertainty in the
parish, especially among those farmers who were once producers of ganja
(marijuana)," said Donavon Smikle, a police officer stationed in St. Ann.

"They are now left in the cold and the only thing left for them to do is to
go back and produce the weed (marijuana). They have no other alternative.
They have their families to take care of, and with desperation stepping in,
I can guarantee you that one day they are going back to plant their stuff."

Smikle and others feel that government should have put a program in place
to assist the farmers who for so many years knew no other way of life as
the trade was passed down from parents to children since St. Ann's "love
affair" with the marijuana plant goes back many years.

In the latter part of the 1960s, a small percentage of the farmers in the
parish started to grow marijuana as a secondary crop, supplementing their
traditional crops, such as yam, potatoes, bananas, coffee, sugar cane and
oranges.

But once they started they realized that the marijuana alternative was much
more lucrative and by the early 1970s it became the parish's number one
money earner, accounting for 65 percent of total earnings, and three out of
every 10 farmers were directly involved in its production, while five out
of every 10 were indirectly involved.

In the 1970s there was an increase in the demand for marijuana both locally
and overseas and as a result more farmers became directly involved in its
production.

In the 1960s, approximately 40 farmers were involved in the cultivation of
marijuana, and these were mainly members of the Rastafarian group who use
it as a religious sacrament. By the early 1970s, there were more than 100
farmers involved in the farming and distribution of marijuana.

By the middle of the 1970s there were more than 500 farmers directly
involved in either the growing, processing, or distribution of marijuana.

Most of these farmers were once peasants who had struggled to feed their
families for years. With the growth in the marijuana trade, many were able
to not just take care of their families but invest in real estate holdings.

By 1980, some 13,000 farmers were said to be involved in the trade.

But with renewed effort on the part of the law enforcement officials to put
an end to this illegal activity over the last few years that figure is
rapidly dwindling and so too is the standard of living of many of the
population numbering just under 200,000.

Robert Folkes is a social worker who has been living in the parish for the
past 25 years. He says over the last few years he has seen a significant
contraction of the construction industry as money from the marijuana trade
dried up.

Ezekia Thomas is a 55-year-old farmer who began marijuana cultivation in
the 1970s. He says everything he owns he obtained through the marijuana trade.

"When I went into the business I went in for one reason, to produce a crop
which I would not have difficulty in selling and to make enough money to
take care of my family. The marijuana trade changed my...life. I built two
houses, and bought several (acres) of land and cattle. I made a lot of
money out of the business," he says.

Thomas says the government should have put in place some alternative for
the farmers before undertaking a total destruction of the marijuana
cultivation in the parish. He, like many others cannot understand why the
government is putting so many resources into the destruction of marijuana,
which they do not consider a harmful drug.

"There are a lot of farmers and families, businesses that are affected
directly or indirectly, and as a result of the eradication of the ganja
business, crime and violence and poverty are creeping in and will make life
more difficult for the people of the parish," says Thomas.

Lynsford Cunningham, a 28-year-old farmer from Clarksonville, St. Ann, has
been involved in the growing of marijuana for the past 10 years. His mother
and father were farmers who grew cash crops in order to provide for their
eight children.

Cunningham dropped out of school at age 12 because his parents had no money
to buy clothes and books for him. He started working with friends on their
marijuana farm at age 15, and three years later he decided to start his own
cultivation.

Since then he has earned more than $220,000 out of the business, he says.
He has also bought a seven-bedroom house for his parents and brothers and
sisters. He says life has been good since he entered the trade.

"If it was not for the ganja trade, my family and I could not have what we
have today. Most of the houses and cars and businesses in this area were
purchased as a result of the money from the ganja business, and when I see
governments over the years trying to destroy the trade without coming up
with any alternative, it pains me," says Cunningham.

He too believes that if the authorities do not provide a quick alternative,
theft and other forms of crime will soon be a way of life in the parish.

"The eradication of the ganja trade in the parish has had severe negative
impact on the lives of just about everything that has life. Some
alternative measures should have been put in place to assist those farmers
whose crops have been totally destroyed. If something is not done, life is
going to be difficult for many," says Norva Rodney, Pastor of the St.
Dacres Baptist Church, St. Ann.

But while government has not yet suggested an alternative, the war on
illegal drugs being exported to the United States and other countries
continues. On the other side, however, there is a growing number of persons
lobbying for the legalization of marijuana.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski