LETTER OF THE DAY - Jamaica ganja-law reform possible
Published:Tuesday | February 8, 2011 | 12:00 AM
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