Kingston, Jamaica: A Jamaican Parliamentary committee is expected to recommend the full Parliament consider a proposal to decriminalize the possession and use of small quantities of marijuana.
A resolution endorsed earlier this week by the Joint Select Committee on the Report of the National Commission on Ganja recommends, “That the relevant laws be amended so that the private, personal use of ganja be no longer an offense.” The committee further recommends that the federal law “be amended so that the use of small quantities of marijuana in public be made a minor offense” punishable by a fine-only. The committee is expected to complete its deliberations at its next meeting.
Last November, NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup spoke before the committee, testifying, “Responsible adult marijuana smokers present no legitimate threat or danger to society, and must not be treated as criminals.” He added: “By stubbornly defining all marijuana smoking as criminal, including that which involves adults smoking 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.”
The Report of the National Commission on Ganja had previously recommended in 2001 that Parliament decriminalize marijuana for adults for personal and religious purposes. Members of Parliamentary committee evaluating the report have expressed interest in enacting the Commission’s recommendations by March 2004.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup of NORML at (202) 483-8751. Text of NORML’s written testimony before the Committee is available online at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5801