As one of three expert witnesses to testify before Parliament last month in favour of recommendations by the Jamaican National Commission on Ganja to decriminalise the responsible use of cannabis by adults, I am pleased to see that this issue is finally receiving the political discourse it deserves.

Few health and safety issues have been as thoroughly investigated as this one. Over the past four decades, federally appointed commissions in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and elsewhere have conducted inquiries on ganja.

Universally, those commissions have recommended amending federal law so that the possession and personal use of cannabis by adults is no longer an offence punishable by arrest or incarceration. This policy, known as "decriminalisation", removes the drug user - and, in most cases, any non-profit distributor - from the criminal justice system, while simultaneously maintaining criminal penalties against those who sell or traffic large quantities of illicit drugs.

To date, dozens of countries have enacted various forms of ganja decriminalisation, and in some cases, legalisation. For example, adults no longer face criminal penalties for possessing and using ganja in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, and The Netherlands, among others. In Australia, several states have enacted regional decriminalisation policies, and in the United States, more than 10 states have had ganja decriminalisation laws on the books for the past 25 years.

In addition, governments in Canada, Great Britain and France have recently announced that they will soon be implementing decriminalisation policies nationwide.
Jamaica's National Commission on Ganja has similarly recommended decriminalising cannabis for personal and religious purposes, and Parliament ought to move forward with this proposal.

Responsible adult cannabis smokers present no legitimate threat or danger to society, and there is no reason for the law to define them as criminals. To do so is to wage war without cause against a significant segment of Jamaica's adult population.

In addition, despite opponents' concerns that decriminalisation might lead to an increase in ganja use, national and international studies have found this belief to be unwarranted. A recent study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry examining the prevalence of cannabis use in the Netherlands - where federal law allows for the regulated sale and use of ganja for those over 16 years of age - compared to that of other nations concluded, "The Dutch experience, together with those of a few other countries with more modest policy changes, provides a moderately good empirical case that removal of criminal prohibitions on cannabis possession (decriminalisation) will not increase the prevalence of marijuana or any other illicit drug; the argument for decriminalisation is thus strong." A similar comparison study conducted in the United States concluded that decriminalisation has "had virtually no effect on either the marijuana use or on the related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among young people".

The use of ganja has long been entrenched in Jamaican culture, and a policy of decriminalisation would be a first and well-advised step in reflecting this cultural reality. By decriminalising the personal possession and use of ganja, Parliament would remove the responsible adult cannabis smoker beyond the reach of the criminal justice system, save precious law-enforcement resources, and stop needlessly destroying the lives and careers of tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens whose only "crime" is that they prefer cannabis to relax rather than alcohol.

Decriminalisation would acknowledge that the responsible use of ganja poses little health or safety threat, and that its use as a medicine, intoxicant, and a sacrament is an established part of the Jamaican culture. Finally, decriminalisation would address the inequity that governs the legalisation and control of tobacco and alcohol while simultaneously prohibiting the use of cannabis - a policy that the commission correctly points out "cannot be rationally justified" and, as such, engenders disrespect for the rule of law in general - particularly among young people. As a result, Parliament should move quickly to enact the National Commission's recommendations and end the criminalisation of ganja for adults.

Paul Chang is head of the Coalition for Ganja Law Reform and NORML Jamaica, and a director of the National Alliance for the Legalisation of Ganja.

E-mail: paul_chang@cwjamaica.com

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