JAMAICA, GANJA, AND THE WORLD

A few weeks ago, I spoke at the Victoria Cross Dinner of the Jamaica
Regiment of the Jamaica Defence Force. The Victoria Cross is the
highest award available to military officers working within the
British tradition; and the Victoria Cross Dinner in Jamaica
commemorates the heroism of Sergeant William Gordon and Lance
Corporal Samuel Hodge, both of the West Indian Regiment: the first
non-Europeans to be awarded the medal.

Bearing in mind that the Jamaica Regiment is active on the frontline
in Jamaica, I considered it appropriate to talk about a number of
policy issues that concern the Jamaican society in general. One such
issue is whether Jamaica should seek to decriminalise the use of
marijuana for private purposes. The following reflects what I said on
that subject.

Commission Proposal

A few years ago, the National Commission on Ganja made a number of
proposals concerning the weed. In essence, the commission, after
months of consultation, recommended to the then Prime Minister P.J.
Patterson, that marijuana use should be decriminalised when used on
private premises and when used for religious reasons.

The commission also recommended that marijuana use should be
discouraged among children, and that Jamaica should undertake
diplomatic initiatives to convince other countries that ganja
decriminalisation was an acceptable course for government policy.

After a period of deliberation, possibly nine days, the matter fell
from public discourse. It has been revived occasionally, but one has
the impression that not much is happening on the ganja legalisation
front. It would not be a good idea for Jamaica to follow the course
of action recommended by the National Commission on Ganja.

For one thing, Jamaica's diplomatic position would be seriously
weakened if we were to follow this route. And here, I am not talking
only about the likely American reaction to the decriminalisation
effort that reaction will be significant.

Under American law, there is every likelihood that Jamaica would be
decertified if we were to decriminalise ganja use, and
decertification would mean that some - perhaps much - of the aid we
receive and some of our access to loans from agencies such as the IMF
and the World Bank would be reduced.

But, as I say, the matter would go beyond the United States.
Arguably, some European countries (such as the Netherlands) would not
be able to complain about our decriminalisation, as they have moved
in this direction. But, within the Caribbean, many of our neighbours
would be inclined to take a dim view of our attitude.

In Cuba today, a Jamaican may well be sentenced to 15 years in jail
for possession of one pound of ganja. The Cuban attitude is very
strict compared to ours; but here is the point, two of our closest
allies in different ways - the U.S. and Cuba - implicitly share the
view that relaxation of our laws would be problematic. One expects,
too, that other Caribbean countries would be critical - in the case
of Barbados, the National Commission's proposal was initially
ridiculed in a leading newspaper as an effort to enhance Jamaica's
sagging tourism fortunes.

International Treaties

Still at the diplomatic level, the National Commission's proposal
would run into choppy waters with respect to certain international
treaties. Jamaica is a party to the 1961 Single Narcotics Convention,
the 1972 Convention on Psychotropic Drugs and the 1988 United Nations
Convention on the Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs.

Each of these treaties prohibits the possession, transport, sale,
export and import of marijuana, among other things. Each one also
requires states parties to impose penal sanctions on these
activities. The question arises: why would other states support the
idea of a wilful violation of these treaties by Jamaica?

But we must also be brave in our analysis. There is strong evidence
that marijuana use has negative effects on some people - including
demotivational syndrome. In the circumstances, I believe that many
Jamaicans do not support decriminalisation. My call is for us to
speak up - for silence on this question is likely to be seen as
acceptance of the idea that there is nothing wrong with ganja-smoking
by adults.

I would also point out that even if you believe that a small amount
of ganja would not be harmful, there would be serious legal problems
in determining what is small for the present purposes. And, if you
leave it to the discretion of the individual, there will be
confusion, for one man's small packet may be another man's heavy load.