Jamaica could benefit from medicinal ganja

THE URUGUAYAN model of marijuana legalisation is one for Jamaica to emulate, according to Paul Chang, chairman of the Ganja Law Reform Coalition (GLRC).

Chang told The Gleaner that Uruguay's draft bill, which legalises the drug, could be a guide for Jamaica's legislators, with medicinal cannabis being the primary route through which tax revenue can be generated.

"We have a vibrant tourist market, a large part of which comes here to consume cannabis, and we would have to draft our reform legislation to allow licensed medical cannabis patients with permits issued by their home jurisdictions a method to legally access and consume their medicine in Jamaica," explained Chang, who argued that the resulting windfall tax revenues for the Government of Jamaica would lead to a renaissance in Jamaica's agriculture.

According to Chang, Jamaican politicians have invested too much political capital in 'the war on drugs' to change their stances publicly, but privately, they are discussing the adaptations necessary to traverse the changing landscape around global ganja legalisation, suggesting "there will be a patchwork of different federal, regional (state) and local/municipal laws on cannabis, as there is today on alcohol and tobacco".

Providing some solutions to the implementation of a legal framework in Jamaica, Chang suggested that photo-ID permits could be issued at the airports by the Jamaican Government for a fee to both legally licensed medical cannabis patients, and also for recreational use, based on the length of time they will be on the island.

Existing markets

Chang said these markets already exist, and that legislation would take them out of the clutches of the black market.

"In 2013, over 90 per cent of Americans polled in favour of legal medical cannabis, and in May 2013, for the first time since United States national polling on the issue started, the majority of Americans polled in favour of total legalisation of cannabis for recreational use," said the GLRC chairman, in support of the global shift towards a softening of the legal stance on ganja.

Chang cited a lack of leadership among the political classes, the churches, the media, and bureaucrats on the issue that has maintained the status quo.