Free up ganja, PM

Anthony Gifford, Guest Columnist

I have fought long and hard for good causes, and I have seen many of them prevail. A time comes when there is such a volume of worldwide action in support of the cause that what seemed impossible becomes the only reasonable thing, and the world changes.

It happened with the ending of apartheid. I believe that ending the prohibition on ganja is another idea whose time has come.

Or to quote Shakespeare, "There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune."

I appeal to the prime minister to lead Jamaica in riding that wave of fortune. All the signs are that Jamaica would gain enormous respect, and much economic advantage, if we were to act now in a bold but responsible way.

The states of Colorado and Washington have voted for legalisation, and more states will follow in a United States which is becoming slowly more progressive, as a broad coalition of young and diverse voters challenges the orthodoxies of the past.

In Colorado, the full regulation of legal sales of ganja has been put into practice, with remarkable financial gains accruing to the new traders in the old herb. In Canada, marijuana for medical use was legalised by the Ontario Court of Appeal in the case of R v Terrence Parker, and is now a major business. Canadian experts recently came here and said that Jamaica's potential for the production of high-quality ganja was needed for Canada's patients and could be a major export earner.

Meeting key players

And now Uruguay, led by President José Mujica, a genuine man of the people, has become the first country to adopt a programme of full legalisation. In framing the legislation, he was helped, as we could be, by experts of the US-based Drug Policy Alliance, whose founder, Ethan Nadelmann, was recently in Jamaica meeting key players in this potential industry.

The Obama administration has sensibly refrained from interfering in any of these historic changes. In a statement made in August 2013, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said federal authorities would not interfere provided that sensible guidelines were adopted by the pioneer states.

So the climate has changed from the time of the Chevannes Commission, which recommended only small steps towards decriminalisation. A programme of full legalisation is now feasible.

I well understand that the prime minister is constrained by financial stress and unable to make any radical changes in economic policy. But with the legalisation of ganja, what is holding her back? Here is an opportunity for leadership which would be politically popular as well as economically fruitful.

No exposure to sanctions

There had been concerns that legalisation would put us in breach of international conventions and expose us to sanctions. That is no longer the case. As I argued before Chevannes, the conventions against the trafficking of drugs are all expressed to be "subject to constitutional principles".

The principles of our own Constitution are enshrined in the Charter of Rights. We have the right to security of the person, which in Canada was interpreted as including the right to seek appropriate medical care. We have the right to freedom of religion, which includes the right of Rastafari to use ganja as a sacrament, as courts in the US have accepted.

We have the right to protection of private life and the privacy of the home. Above all, we are a free people whose right to liberty may only be taken away by measures which are "demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society".

I am not seeking a free-for-all. Ganja should not be available to children and minors. Like alcohol, it needs to be used in moderation. Education, licensing and taxation should be part of the mix in any reform. We should not export to countries where ganja remains illegal.

But a sensible programme of legalisation, following the Uruguay model, will bring enormous benefit to our country. It will enhance liberty by ending the daily misery of casual users being arrested and criminalised. It will enhance health by allowing us to enjoy the remarkable healing powers of this plant. It will enhance religion by giving due respect to the livity of Rastafari. And it will enhance our economy at a time of serious depression.

Lead the way, PM. The time is NOW.

Lord Anthony Gifford, QC, is an attorney-at-law and a director of the Ganja Law Reform Coalition. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.