Dr. R. G. Lampart, Contributor
THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL has warned the Government that any move to decriminalise marijuana would find Jamaica in breach of the international conventions which it ratified and would place the country at odds with its treaty obligations on drug control with possible serious consequence.
At the time of these conventions the United Nations had before it documents from various countries concerning the drugs to be discussed.
The document on marijuana stated that it was a dangerous substance of no medical value. So dangerous in fact that all aspects of it were made a criminal offence.
Over the years, however, increased knowledge gained has shown:
That it is not as dangerous a drug as was portrayed in the documents.
That it has distinct medical value.
Its use has become so widespread and, there being no fundamental change in the law, it has been an increasing cause of crime and social upheavals in various countries. This has attracted the attention of sections of the society all crying out for change in one way or another.
WHAT SHOULD JAMAICA DO?
The United States was faced with a similar situation in the early part of the last century. That country had outlawed all aspects of alcohol which subsequently became so widespread in use and was corrupting all sections of the society that the Government was forced to change the law from that of total prohibition to one of licensing and regulation. In the process the U.S. converted alcohol from a revenue spender to a revenue earner.
Can we do that with marijuana? Of course we can. But to do so on our own would put us in breach of our international obligations as the Solicitor-General has pointed out. And this we cannot afford.
I would strongly advise the Government, therefore, to go back to the UN and ask for a new convention on drugs in general and marijuana in particular, in the light of the new knowledge we now have.
MEDICAL USE
Regarding this aspect, we could on our own call on Canasol, the glaucoma-relieving eyedrops developed here by our own Professor Manley West and Dr. Albert Lockhart, and Asthmasol for its extensive use in asthma, a condition which is increasing worldwide.
To give evidence on our behalf we could call on the California Medical Association, the Canadian, British and Australian medical departments, and the numerous states and oncology associations in the U.S. and elsewhere.
DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE
Regarding its dangers, we could on our own quote the findings of the extensive work done at the University of the West Indies by Rubin and Comitas and we could ask the Costa Rican Government for its support as the findings of research done there were similar to ours.
We could quote our own findings of the result of the five-year follow-up of rural Jamaican children whose mothers used marijuana during pregnancy, published in the West Indian Medical Journal Sept 1991.
We could also ask for the support of the World Health Organisation which has statistical evidence to show that of all the drugs in common use some of which are "legal" and some "illegal" tobacco is the most dangerous of them all, responsible for one death every 11 seconds throughout the world. Marijuana, on the other hand, is now regarded in scientific circles as a 'soft' drug.
HUMAN RIGHTS
We could also solicit the help of the human rights people who will argue that if it is the right of the individual to smoke cigarettes if he so wishes, why is he denied that right with marijuana and being made a criminal if he does so.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS
Finally, we could petition environmentalists, this most active body, to come to our support. For they know the whole history of why marijuana came to be in this situation.
They know of the genesis of the Marijuana Tax Act by which the U.S. eventually outlawed the plant in 1937.
This made it almost impossible for paper to be made from hemp, a process which causes far less environmental pollution than in making paper from wood pulp.
And they would argue in their own inimitable style that it is time to go back to making paper from cannabis, discontinue the deforestation, reduce the incidence of acid rain and the pollution of our rivers and save our planet earth which as they like to say is "not for sale".
POLITICS, DIPLOMACY AND TIMING
I can think of no better time to approach the UN than now. For Jamaica will have the backing of all those countries of the world including Britain, which have changed or are in the process of changing their approach to the marijuana problem.
In fact, the major factors delaying progress in the so-called "drug war" have been dominance of the UN by the U.S., the unreasonably intractability of the federal government, and differences between state and federal law as regards marijuana.
Last year, federal agents busted a health clinic treating AIDS, cancer and other patients in California and carted them off to a federal institution.
Though this action was an embarrassment to the U.S., it was upheld by its Supreme Court which maintained that federal law supersedes state law.
The recent "emasculation" of the UN by the U.S. leading up to the Iraq war, the fiscal and other problems associated with the post-war situation and the emergence of the European Union have all created a situation for the U.S. whereby it is now apparently abandoning that arrogant 'we will do it alone' attitude and is pulling out all the stops in efforts to make friends and demonstrate some form of world unity.
With Britain definitely on our side in the marijuana issue, and both Blair and Bush in the position in which they now are, I anticipate a change in federal U.S. also.
America will also get some silent under-the-counter lobbying from some of the cigarette companies for it is open secret that some are simply waiting for the day when marijuana will be decriminalised and they will come out on the market with an appropriate cigarette. It is even rumoured that one has already taken out a patent on the word.
STRONG CASE
I believe we have a strong case. In 1962 three months after we became an independent nation, we impressed the world by proposing to the UN the creation of an International Year of Human Rights.
Let us do it again by proposing radical changes in the entire drug spectrum. Perhaps we should ask our Solicitor-General to prepare and present our case for us.
NOTE: Regular columnist Dawn Ritch is on vacation.
