Jamaica Gleaner
March 15, 1999


Munroe

EFFORTS TO place the controversial subject of ganja on the table for national debate continue as independent Senator, Professor Trevor Munroe, recently called for the establishment of a National Commission to do a comprehensive review on the topic.

Prof Munroe is expected to move a resolution at the next meeting of the Senate calling on the Government, in consultation with civil society, "to establish, as a matter of urgency, a broadly based National Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the ganja situation in Jamaica." He said the Commission should be mandated to complete its report and recommendations within six months. He made the announcement in the Senate.

Both major political parties have recently set up committees to explore the decriminalisation of the possession of small amounts of the substance, which is illegal in Jamaica. Advocates extol the medical properties of ganja, but President of the Medical Association of Jamaica, Dr. Winston Davidson said recently that ganja is partly responsible for the poor performance of young male students in school.

Prof Munroe said there is an urgent need to make the national drug control programme more effective and in keeping with the public interest, but that the current treatment of ganja by the Jamaican authorities detracted from this goal.

He said this was because local authorities do not sufficiently take into account the need for equity in the criminal justice system, the requirement for dealing with ganja consumption as primarily a public health problem, the specifics of Jamaican culture and changing global perspectives on marijuana and related plants.

Prof Munroe's resolution states that the Commission should bear in mind:

• the necessity to observe Jamaica's international obligations;
  
  
• the utility of marijuana for medicinal purposes;
  
  
• the desirability of decriminalising ganja for private personal use, and;
  
  
• the necessity to upgrade public education, public health and demand reduction measures in respect of ganja and other substances which may be harmful if abused.