Within the last year, Jamaica's parliament-
appointed National Commission on Ganja
(marijuana) has called for the decriminalization of
marijuana on the island, and the ruling Peoples' National Party has endorsed Prime Minister PJ. Pat- terson's call for a national debate on the topic. Last
October, the PNP National Executive Council voted
to place the party on record as supporting such a
debate, but little progress has been made since
then.
With marijuana's use as a sacrament in the Rasta-
farian religion, the weed has a popular base in
Jamaican society, and various blue-ribbon panels have called for its use to be normalized, but effec-
tive legislative action has been slow to materialize.
Again, a glowering U.S. presence has been an effec-
tive restraint, with U.S. Embassy officers in
Kingston quick to warn last summer that Jamaica
could face decertification and as a result lose U.S.-
aid if it moved forward with decriminalization. According to local marijuana activists, the ganja
commission's recommendations and the PNP's call for debate are now on the back-burner as a govern-
ment worried by U.S. reaction and bedeviled by
outbreaks of criminal violence quietly backs away from radical change in the marijuana laws. But
while the PNP may be cooling its heels, the cause of
decriminalization has found powerful converts. Last
summer, the Jamaica Gleaner, one of the island's leading media outlets, wrote: "We think it is impor-
tant to recognize some current realities...neither
law nor gentle persuasion will ever eradicate the
growth and use of ganja in this society."
