Why is ganja illegal in Jamaica?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Why is ganja, weed, marijuana, call it what you will, still illegal in Jamaica in 2021? Yes we have heard of its mind-altering properties and the ills associated with it, but they pale in comparison to alcohol. When was the last time you heard of an accident caused by someone smoking ganja as against driving under the influence of alcohol? It is a known fact that ganja has medicinal properties and has played a significant role in curing cancer and eye afflictions, among other things. What good has ever been attributed to alcohol, besides making its manufacturers rich?

In my opinion, the Government is dysfunctional, to put it mildly, in this matter. The Government is not much different from the maroons who hunted down their fellow Jamaicans at the behest of the colonial masters. The irony of it all is that the very people overseas who are persecuting us for weed have been growing it in their spaces for quite some time now. Why in God’s name are my tax dollars and the time of the Jamaican police being wasted sniffing out and destroying ganja fields when out of the other side of the Government’s mouth they tout freeing up the weed?

Some might argue that they are simply enforcing the laws on the books, but what about the motorcyclists riding about without helmets and licences and killing themselves off? And why the deafening silence from the key stakeholders?

ROBERT MITCHELL

Christiana P.O.

Manchester