THE

DECRIMINALISATION
OF MARIJUANA.
FD13A

DECRIMINALISATION VS
LEGALISATION.

Decriminalisation refers to a process

whereby the law is changed so that an
action that was deemed illegal becomes legal
in the relevant jurisdiction.
While decriminalised acts are no longer
presumed as crimes, they are subject to
regulation.
Legalization on the other hand, removes all
or most legal detriments from an offence.

GLOBAL OVERVIEW

The United Nations Office on Drugs and

Crime estimates that more than 200,000
people die of drug-related illnesses yearly.
Marijuana is one of the most widely used
illicit drug used worldwide.
Despite the fact that marijuana is less
harmful than most other drugs, including
alcohol and tobacco, it is the most common
drug that people are arrested for
possessing.

GLOBAL OVERVIEW

Israel is pioneering the research on medicinal marijuana.

Dutch citizens over age eighteen have been permitted to buy and
use cannabis (marijuana and hashish) in government-regulated
coffee shops. This policy has not resulted in dramatically
escalating marijuana use.

Canada is the first country to lift the ban on medicinal marijuana.

According to the United Nations, Canada has the highest number

of marijuana smokers in the industrialised world.

Mexico decriminalised the possession of small amounts all major

narcotics including marijuana, cocaine and heroin (August
2010).

GLOBAL OVERVIEW CONTD

In the USA :
More than a dozen states have decriminalised
possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Marijuana is legal for medical use in 14
states and Washington, DC.
In California and Colorado, hundreds of
medical marijuana dispensaries have
developed in recent years.

THE JAMAICAN CONTEXT:

BACKGROUND

In Jamaica, from the 1800's until the early

years of the 20th century, ganja was an
unregulated herb (widely used as medicine,
intoxicant, and religious sacrament).
Criminalised in 1913.
Jamaica later became a signatory to
international treaties that prohibit the use of
marijuana.

JAMAICA: THE EXTENT OF

MARIJUANA USE .

Researchers told the Chevannes Commission

on Ganja that approximately one third of the
island's residents smoke ganja on a regular
basis, and that ganja use, once confined
mostly to people on the lower rungs of the
socioeconomic ladder, is now practiced by
people from all strata of society.

ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING THE

DECRIMINALISATION OF MARIJUANA

Part of Jamaicas culture/ cultural legacy.

Potential source of Government revenue.

Medicinal properties .

Legalised by many countries.

Marijuana has fewer health risks than tobacco or alcohol.

Scientific studies have shown that ganja is a pacifier, unlike some drugs which
work as stimulants.
Marijuana has been proven helpful for treating the symptoms of a variety of
medical conditions .

May lessen the burden on the court system given the overwhelming volume of
ganja related cases currently before the RM Court.
Source of employment .

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE

DECRIMINALISATION OF MARIJUANA.

It affects the judgment of users.

It may cause addiction.
The use of drugs is morally wrong.
It is a gateway drug.
May lead to social problems such as crime.
Health risks (hallucinations, mental
impairment).
May lead to violent behaviour among users.

Foreign Policy Implications.

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The law in Jamaica under The Dangerous
Drug Act, Part IIIA (7A-D)
prohibits the:
1. export or import,
2. cultivation,
3. selling or dealing in or transporting,
4. possessing, and
5.
smoking of ganja,

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

1.
2.

Jamaica is also party to a number of

treaties that condemn marijuana use:
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs,
1961.
The United Nations Convention Against
Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances, 1988.

DECRIMINALISATION?--THE
DEBATE.
In Jamaica in 1977 a Joint Select Committee was
set up to study ganja and make new policy
recommendations. It:
1. Rejected full legalization on the basis that
Jamaica would not be in full compliance with antinarcotics treaties, but it unanimously concluded
that "there was a substantial case for
decriminalizing personal use of ganja."
2.Recommended "no punishment" for personal use of
as much as two ounces of ganja by users on private
premises.
3. Recommended total legalization of medical
marijuana.

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

GANJA, 2000-2001
The 2000-2001 National Commission on Ganja
chaired by Professor Barry Chevannes
recommended that:
1. The relevant laws be amended so that ganja
be decriminalised for the private, personal
use of small quantities by adults;
2. Ganja should be decriminalised as a
sacrament for religious purposes.As long as
it is a part of a persons religion for eg.
Rastafarianism, they should be able to use it
on their personal property and not on
premises accessible to the public.

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

GANJA, 2000-2001 CONTD.
3. Decriminalisation for personal use should
exclude smoking by juveniles or by anyone in
premises accessible to the public;
4. That a sustained all-media, all-schools
education programme aimed at demand
reduction accompany the process of
decriminalisation, and that its target should
be, in the main, young people;
5. The security forces should intensify their
interdiction of large cultivation of ganja and
trafficking of all illegal drugs, in particular
crack cocaine;

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

GANJA, 2000-2001 CONTD.
6. In order that Jamaica be not left behind, a
cannabis research agency be set up, in
collaboration with other countries, to
coordinate research into all aspects of
cannabis, including its epidemiological and
psychological effects, and importantly as
well its pharmacological and economic
potential, such as is being done by many
other countries, not least including some of
the most vigorous in its suppression;

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON

GANJA, 2000-2001 CONTD
7.As a matter of great urgency, Jamaica
embark on diplomatic initiatives with its
CARICOM partners and other countries
outside the region, in particular members of
the European Union, with a view
(a) to elicit support for its internal position,
and
(b)
to influence the international community
to re-examine the status of cannabis.

DISCUSSION