JAMAICA GANJA-LAW REFORM POSSIBLE

THE EDITOR, Sir:

It is not true that international treaties, in particular the 1961
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, prohibit governments from
pursuing alternative legal schemes regarding the possession or
regulation of cannabis as stated in a Gleaner article on January 31
titled 'Ganja to remain under ban in Jamaica because of int'l
treaties', in its reporting of a lecture recently at the University of
the West Indies, Mona, on the subject.

According to a 2001 British study, governments have "considerable room
for manoeuvre under the terms of the three [international]
drug-control conventions". These treaties allow for lawmakers to
impose administrative sanctions such as "rehabilitation and social
reintegration ... [to] be substituted for conviction and penal
sanction" in illicit drug cases.

Marijuana legalised

In fact, the governments of numerous nations - including Portugal and
the Netherlands - have codified legislation decriminalising the
possession, use, and limited sale of cannabis. These nations have done
so despite being signatories to international anti-drug treaties.
Currently, governments in the United States of America, Canada, the
United Kingdom, and Israel all license private parties to produce and
distribute marijuana for research and/or medical purposes.

Once again, these activities take place despite the existence of
international anti-drug conventions. Fifteen US states also exempt
authorised users from state criminal sanctions if they possess, use,
or grow marijuana under a physician's supervision. They have done so
without raising international ire.

The findings of the report of the National Commission on Ganja,
chaired by the late Professor Barry Chevannes, remain appropriate and
relevant today. Ganja consumers present no legitimate threat or danger
to society and should not be treated as criminals.

By stubbornly defining all marijuana use as criminal, including that
which involves adults consumption within the privacy of their own
homes, Jamaica is wasting precious police and prosecutorial resources;
clogging the courts; filling costly and scarce jail and prison space
that would otherwise house violent offenders; undermining drug
education efforts; acting against the best interests of public health
and safety; engendering disrespect for the rule of law; and needlessly
wrecking the lives and careers of thousands of otherwise law-abiding
citizens every year.

We are, etc.,

GANJA LAW REFORM COALITION

glrcjamaica@gmail.com