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Jamaican
Parliament
Approves
Commission
to
Look
at
Decriminalization
of
Marijuana
10/15/99
(courtesy NORML Foundation,
http://www.norml.org)
Oct. 14, 1999, Kingston,
Jamaica: The Jamaican Senate has unanimously approved a resolution establishing
a commission to explore the decriminalization of marijuana. Trevor
Munroe, the Independent senator who sponsored the resolution, has also
suggested that the commission look into legalizing medical marijuana and
the clearing of criminal records for Jamaicans who were arrested with small
quantities of marijuana intended for personal use.
"What it (the resolution)
is saying is that it is unfair and wrong to make a criminal, particularly
of a young person with a spliff in personal usage in private premises,
so that there are disadvantages in applying for a visa in getting a job,"
Munroe said. "At the same time it is not illegal to consume alcohol
and use tobacco, two substances which are in fact regarded as being even
more dangerous than ganja."
This is not the first commission
set up by the Jamaican Parliament to look at marijuana decriminalization.
A similar commission concluded 22 years ago that there should be no penalty
for private use, a $10 fine for public use and that doctors should legally
be able to prescribe marijuana. Politicians refused to implement
the recommendations in the 1970s for fear of offending its trade partners
such as the United States.
"Clearly, if it were not
for the United States' economic and military dominance of this hemisphere,
Jamaica would certainly have reformed its American-inspired marijuana laws
decades ago -- then again, most other countries would likely do the same,"
said Allen St. Pierre, NORML Foundation Executive Director. The ruling
People's National Party also favors setting up a similar commission to
investigate the uses of industrial hemp.
-- END --
|
Issue #112, 10/15/99
California Attorney General Urges Reno Not to Call for Rehearing of Medical Marijuana Case | GHB Closer to Schedule I Status | DPF Alert: Senator Session's Version of Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Worse than Nothing; Public Action Needed | House Holds Hearing on Youth-Targeted Anti-Drug Ads | California Governor Misses the Point, Signs Watered Down Syringe Exchange Bill | Addicted AIDS Patient Kicked to Death by Vigilantes Following Community Anti-Drug Meeting | Harm Reduction in the Australian Capitol Territory: A Brief Conversation with Michael Moore | Jamaican Parliament Approves Commission to Look at Decriminalization of Marijuana | Hemp Embargo Continues | Public Comment Still Needed on Proposed Methadone Changes in US | Cato Conference Proceedings Online | Job Opportunity | Editorial: Just Another Front Page Drug Bust
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