T
The420Guy
Guest
PARLIAMENT is set to complete its review of the report of the National
Commission on Ganja during the course of the new legislative year,
according to Attorney-General A J Nicholson.
The commission, established by Prime Minister P J Patterson in November
2000, sat for nine months and received 354 oral and 44 written submissions.
It was headed by University of the West Indies sociology professor, Barry
Chevannes.
In its report, which it presented to Patterson in August 2001, the
commission recommended the decriminalisation of ganja for personal, private
use by adults and for use as a sacrament for religious purposes.
It also recommended that the state should begin an intensive education
programme to reduce the demand for the drug, particularly among young
people; that the security forces increase their efforts of interdiction of
large-scale cultivation of ganja and trafficking of all illegal drugs; and
that the country, as a matter of urgency, should seek diplomatic support
for its position and to influence the international community to re-examine
the status of cannabis.
The commission's report was tabled in Parliament last year and referred to
a joint select committee of both houses of Parliament, chaired by then
Government MP Canute Brown.
It is likely that another Joint Select Committee will be established to
take up where the Brown committee left off, Nicholson told the Observer.
"That committee would then make its recommendations in a report to
Parliament, and then that report would be debated in the Parliament," he said.
In the event that Parliament accepts the recommendation concerning
decriminalisation, the appropriate changes would have to be made to the
existing laws, which establish criminal sanctions for personal use of ganja
in private.
On that point, Nicholson reiterated that decriminalisation did not mean
legalisation. "It would be treated essentially like a traffic offence," he
said. "For example; it's quasi-criminal, meaning it's not something that
would go on your record, so that even if you're caught with a spliff, which
is for personal use... whatever happens in court, there would be no
criminal record."
Nicholson also highlighted "collateral issues", which Parliament will have
to consider when looking at amending the appropriate legislation.
"How, for example, do we treat with possession for personal use, and the
ability of that person to obtain the drug from someone else; what is the
position of that other person?" he asked.
Furthermore, he said that Jamaica would have to consider the implications
for the country's international treaty obligations when looking at changes
to local laws pertaining to ganja use.
In that regard, he said, the person supplying the ganja, which is obtained
for personal use, would, under existing laws, be considered a drug
trafficker, which is a serious criminal offence covered by an existing
treaty to which Jamaica is a party.
Considering the many legal and social implications, Nicholson said it was
important for the country's 4,500 justices of the peace and the general
public to be properly informed about the reform proposals and their
implications.
"As I tried to exhort the justices of the peace for Surrey recently, they
have to be part of the whole debate and discussion concerning the
decriminalisation issue," he said.
Pubdate: Tue, 15 Apr 2003
Source: Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Copyright: 2003 The Jamaica Observer Ltd,
Contact: editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Website: Jamaica Observer: Jamaican News Online – the Best of Jamaican Newspapers - JamaicaObserver.com
Commission on Ganja during the course of the new legislative year,
according to Attorney-General A J Nicholson.
The commission, established by Prime Minister P J Patterson in November
2000, sat for nine months and received 354 oral and 44 written submissions.
It was headed by University of the West Indies sociology professor, Barry
Chevannes.
In its report, which it presented to Patterson in August 2001, the
commission recommended the decriminalisation of ganja for personal, private
use by adults and for use as a sacrament for religious purposes.
It also recommended that the state should begin an intensive education
programme to reduce the demand for the drug, particularly among young
people; that the security forces increase their efforts of interdiction of
large-scale cultivation of ganja and trafficking of all illegal drugs; and
that the country, as a matter of urgency, should seek diplomatic support
for its position and to influence the international community to re-examine
the status of cannabis.
The commission's report was tabled in Parliament last year and referred to
a joint select committee of both houses of Parliament, chaired by then
Government MP Canute Brown.
It is likely that another Joint Select Committee will be established to
take up where the Brown committee left off, Nicholson told the Observer.
"That committee would then make its recommendations in a report to
Parliament, and then that report would be debated in the Parliament," he said.
In the event that Parliament accepts the recommendation concerning
decriminalisation, the appropriate changes would have to be made to the
existing laws, which establish criminal sanctions for personal use of ganja
in private.
On that point, Nicholson reiterated that decriminalisation did not mean
legalisation. "It would be treated essentially like a traffic offence," he
said. "For example; it's quasi-criminal, meaning it's not something that
would go on your record, so that even if you're caught with a spliff, which
is for personal use... whatever happens in court, there would be no
criminal record."
Nicholson also highlighted "collateral issues", which Parliament will have
to consider when looking at amending the appropriate legislation.
"How, for example, do we treat with possession for personal use, and the
ability of that person to obtain the drug from someone else; what is the
position of that other person?" he asked.
Furthermore, he said that Jamaica would have to consider the implications
for the country's international treaty obligations when looking at changes
to local laws pertaining to ganja use.
In that regard, he said, the person supplying the ganja, which is obtained
for personal use, would, under existing laws, be considered a drug
trafficker, which is a serious criminal offence covered by an existing
treaty to which Jamaica is a party.
Considering the many legal and social implications, Nicholson said it was
important for the country's 4,500 justices of the peace and the general
public to be properly informed about the reform proposals and their
implications.
"As I tried to exhort the justices of the peace for Surrey recently, they
have to be part of the whole debate and discussion concerning the
decriminalisation issue," he said.
Pubdate: Tue, 15 Apr 2003
Source: Jamaica Observer (Jamaica)
Copyright: 2003 The Jamaica Observer Ltd,
Contact: editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Website: Jamaica Observer: Jamaican News Online – the Best of Jamaican Newspapers - JamaicaObserver.com
