In the light of controversial new initiatives in several states (Colorado & Washington) in the US legalizing the recreational use of ganga (cannabis; marijuana; grass; weed; pot; tea; buds; nug...), many visitors to Treasure Beach and the hills, vales and shores of Jamaica would love to be apprised of decriminalization/ legalization efforts here abouts.

This forum discussion is all in the spirit of what is the current ethos of judicious pharmaceutical drug or alcohol use...whether be it from controlled to uncontrolled substances.
It has been a vague argument of many opponents of ganga legalization that it as an"entry drug" to more seriously addicting drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
A more observable phenomenon, however, is perhaps just the opposite opinion, gathered through the genuine experiences of cancer patients and other medical marijuana users that it could be viewed as an "exit drug", i.e., folks, in general, using the herb to "to wean themselves off sleep aids, anti-depressants and, yes, booze".
As with any mind altering drug, that includes ganga, let it be up to parents, teachers and peer groups be responsible in educating each other, in a non-hypocritical manner the advantages of sane, healthy, contemplative, stress-lowering life styles.

Consider the wisdom of the "Don't Drink & Dive" adage!


If there was anywhere on earth where it was legal to smoke marijuana you would think that would be Jamaica. Home to the Rastafari religion, home to Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. An island with superb growing conditions and where approximately 60-70% of the rural population smoke (source), legalizing personal and religious use of the plant would seem to just bring the law into line with the will of the people.

Well, now, for the first time in a decade, the Jamaican government is considering decriminalization.

Top government officials in Jamaica have said they will review recommendations to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal and religious use in the Caribbean island nation.

Six Cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s administration will evaluate a 2001 report by the National Commission for Ganja, reports David McFadden of Bloomberg Businessweek.

The commission, which included academics and doctors and was appointed by a government led by the current opposition party, argued that cannabis was “culturally entrenched” in Jamaica and that moderate use had no negative health effects on most users.
Link to a Lively Discussion & A Guide to Visitors on Developments on the Herb Front Here in Jamaica
www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/04/jamaica_taking_another_look_at_marijuana_decrimina .php


Our Honoured Literary Guru, Perry Henzell, Expounds on the Culture of Ganja:
The 'Babylon'-ganja Battle
"I'm not a Rasta any more than I'm into any religion, but I think they're right about many things such as the importance of ital food, free from chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and I think they're right about ganja.

Why does 'Babylon' hate and fear ganga so much? Because it leads to violence? No, everybody knows ganga cools you out. Because it's injurious to health? No, everybody knows it is not as harmful as alcohol or cigarettes. Because it puts tax-free cash into poor people's pockets? Maybe, but surely Omar, the lover of reggae music and devotee of Tosh and Marley, to say nothing of being a member of Parliament for an inner-city constituency, would let that one go.

No, what Babylon really has against ganga is that it induces relaxation!

Anywhere Babylon reigns supreme, relaxation is a crime. Just try laughing in church or in court or on the parade ground. Even in a bank, customers tend to wait in hushed silence."
Perry Henzell (Treasure Beach's Own)
Read More @ Cannabis Culture Link:
www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4362.html

Would You Give Up Booze For A Bud?
www.huffingtonpost.com/laurel-dewey/marijuana-vs-alcohol_b_2110727.html?view=pri nt

The housekeeper at the villa where I stay in Treasure Beach is a God-fearing Christian. She attends church regularly and doesn't drink alcohol or smoke anything. On the other hand she has told me she feels ganga should be legalized because it doesn't hurt anyone and doesn't lead to occasional fighting and nastiness like alcohol does. She says the worst thing ganga does is to make people sleepy or hungry and the best thing it does is make them laugh.

I have always believed that the USA would never allow Jamaica to set it's own ganga policy. That concern of mine has now largely disappeared following the voters decision in those states. Now is the time for the Ja government to exercise some independence (which we reportedly have) and stand up for all the farmers who could grow the weed as a cash crop. Just imagine the economic benefit that couold flow our way.

Relax...Enjoy the Sunset...Harm No One (Including yourself***)...Imagine Your Dreams...Share Your Visions...Laugh Your Head Off...Enter Tricky, Even Hallucinatory Realms and Solve Unsolvable Problems...Return to Your Day Job Without a Hangover & Energized to Share Love, Good Will and Purpose>>

Observer Link:
www.jamaicaobserver.com/pfversion/Why-not-make-ganja-legal-in-Jamaica-_12997454

***Ganga Smoking & Lung Cancer?
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000234

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html

Education could help to save the world... and in the case of the decriminalization of marijuana which I think was suppressed for decades by big secular interest groups is now about to crumble like the Berlin Wall.For one, in the USA there is a notable trend even where attempts to legalize marijuana has failed in some states, each time its by a smaller margin. A permissive society gives us reasonable choices to determine our live style and maintain prudent check and balance.Nothing like a nice cup of herb tea to relax me, though I hear it makes some people act crazy. I love a bit of "salt fish" with my ackee but I use it in a way that it will not adversely affect my blood pressure.What a great freedom to do the latter?

Stoo's typo: "Don't Drink and D(r)ive" deserves some consideration as a public safety & personal responsibility issue. Who in their right mind would want to be zipping down the toll road 2000, especially at night, approaching the Mandela Highway into Kingston, worrying about how many stoned drivers are veering into their right-of-way?

Marijuana can cause dizziness and slowed reaction time, and drivers are more likely to drift and swerve while they're high.

Marijuana legalization activists agree people shouldn't smoke and drive. But setting a standard comparable to blood-alcohol limits has sparked intense disagreement...

Most convictions for drugged driving currently are based on police observations, followed later by a blood test.

"There is not yet a consensus about the standard rate for THC impairment"...Unlike portable breath tests for alcohol, there's no easily available way to determine whether someone is impaired from recent pot use.

"Marijuana affects everyone differently. The prevailing opinion of forensic toxicologists is that a 2-nanograms standard... absolutely results in convictions where individuals are not actually under the influence.
But the 5-nanograms standard more closely approaches the mean threshold of prevailing opinion."

Read More @: Stoned Driving...
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/with-pot-legal-police-wor_n_2136034.html?view= print&comm_ref=false

Gleaner Editorial Endorses Free Trade In Marijuana

What ultimately defeated Prohibition was that it didn't reduce drinking in America, but turned the manufacture and distribution of alcohol into a business controlled by mobsters. Many people see a parallel between Prohibition and the 'War on Drugs'.
The fact that marijuana is not perceived to be in the same category as other hard drugs makes of it a good foundation on which to build a review, without the deep divisiveness that might attend another drug.

What is taking place in America has lessons and policy implications for Jamaica.

The Government should, without delay, remedy this nonsense by implementing the Chevannes recommendations and, perhaps, draw on the laws now in place in Washington state and Colorado. The national Treasury might be a big beneficiary, if the tax earned from tobacco is any guide.

Jamaica should also be positioning itself to take commercial advantage of the developments in the US, especially should the federal prohibition on ganja come to an end. In cases where the consumer experience from the product is indistinguishable, regardless of where it is sourced, what creates market differentiation is branding.

There is no doubt that the Jamaica brand is hot. Ganja could find a niche, like Blue Mountain coffee.

Read More @:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121207/cleisure/cleisure1.html

Just a matter of time ...but Jamaica should lead the way.
CNN NEWS http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/11/fmr-pres-jimmy-carter-talks-marijuana/

The above editorial in the Gleaner said:

"Jamaica should also be positioning itself to take commercial advantage of the developments in the US, especially should the federal prohibition on ganja come to an end. In cases where the consumer experience from the product is indistinguishable, regardless of where it is sourced, what creates market differentiation is branding. There is no doubt that the Jamaica brand is hot. Ganja could find a niche, like Blue Mountain coffee."

My opinion differs though I definitely believe ganja should be legalized. Blue Mountain is a cartel as is DeBeers with diamonds. The upshot is the creation of monopolistic companies in which the rich get richer and all the little guys don't make the profits they could.

I don't smoke ganja though I don't object to those who do as long as they don't do things like smoke and drive, the same as when people shouldn't be drinking and driving. Seeing how hard people in Treasure Beach work to make a living and often lose money on crops like melons, I have often thought how wonderful it would be if they could grow and sell ganja legally. This could definitely be the #1 export from Jamaica, and I think it would relieve much of the financial burdens on the entire country.