'Police in Helicopter' promises fiery tit for tat

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

While use may be commonplace and criticism of existing legislation rife, marijuana is still illegal in Jamaica.

The Dangerous Drugs Act covers cultivation, possession, export and smoking of the plant, the section dealing with cultivation stating: "Every person who deals in ganja; or (a) cultivates, gathers, produces, sells or otherwise (b) being the owner or occupier of any premises, uses such premises for the cultivation or storage of ganja or the selling or otherwise dealing in ganja or knowingly permits such premises to be so used; or (c) uses any conveyance for carrying ganja or for the purpose of selling or otherwise dealing in ganja, or being the owner or person in charge of any conveyance, knowingly permits it to be so used, shall be guilty of an offence ... ."

However, reggae is rife with 'weed tunes', as singers and deejays sing the praises of marijuana use. But there is one song which advocates retaliation for the state's marijuana eradication efforts, John Holt's Police in Helicopter.

The very popular song addresses the search-and-destroy efforts, by air and on land:

"Police in helicopter

A search fe marijuana

Policemen in the streets, searching fi collie weed

Soldiers in the field, burnin' di collie weed"

Then comes the promise of outright tit for fiery tat:

"But if you continue to burn up the herbs

We gonna burn down di cane fields"

The army is not left out, as Holt sings "soldier in the herb field, burnin' di collie weed". And, as he points out, the marijuana growers' hands-off treatment of other crops:

"We don't trouble your banana

We don't trouble your corn

We don't trouble your pimento

We don't trouble you at all

So if you continue to burn up the herbs

We gonna burn down the cane fields"

A significant level of approval for the sentiments expressed in Police in Helicopter is shown by the song's over three million hits on YouTube.

While there is no record of a 'burn for burn' by marijuana growers, the long arm of the law has reached into and destroyed many a marijuana crop. Three years ago, however, there was collateral damage during one singing in St Elizabeth, The Gleaner reporting on March 6:

"Angry farmers in St Elizabeth are accusing the police of deliberately starting Tuesday's massive fire, which destroyed several major farms between Big Woods and Malvern in the parish, leaving over 240 acres of farmlands in ruin and causing an estimated $15 million in damage.

"While the police are contending that the fire started accidentally during an operation in which they raided and set fire to a ganja farm in Big Woods, several farmers said they believe their farms were targeted deliberately because the police regularly accused them of being sympathetic to the ganja farmers.

"Woman farmer, 29-year-old Natalee Gordon, who could only stand by and watch as the fire destroyed her eight-acre farm, which had crops of tomatoes, yams, bananas, cassava and thousands of dollars worth of farm tools, said she actually saw a member of the raiding party set the fire, which she said started on her farm.

"I saw three members of the raiding party standing together and suddenly one of them bent down between two banana trees as if he was tying his shoelace," said Gordon, who suffered some $4.5 million in damage. "I saw the one, who was bending, suddenly running off and then I saw the guinea grass on fire."