KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - According to Jamaica's justice minister, legislation has been drafted to decriminalize marijuana on the island where the drug has been pervasive but prohibited for a century.

Mark Golding told reporters that lawmakers should make possession of 2 ounces or less a petty offense before the end of 2014. He also expects decriminalization for religious purposes to be authorized by then, allowing adherents of the homegrown Rastafarian spiritual movement to ritually smoke marijuana, which they consider a "holy herb," without fear of arrest.

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JAMAICA'S justice minister has said legislation has been drafted to decriminalise marijuana on the Caribbean island where the drug has been pervasive but prohibited for a century.

Mark Golding told reporters that parliament should make possession of two ounces or less a petty offence before the end of 2014.

He also expects decriminalisation for religious purposes to be authorised by then, allowing adherents of the homegrown Rastafarian spiritual movement to ritually smoke marijuana - which they consider a "holy herb" - without fear of arrest.

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(AP) - Taking a deep draw on a pipe that glows with burning marijuana, reggae luminary Bunny Wailer gives a satisfied grin through a haze of aromatic smoke in his concrete yard painted in the red, green, gold and black colors identified with his Rastafarian faith.

These days the baritone singer from the legendary Wailers, the group he formed in 1963 with late stars Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, has reason to feel good. There is unprecedented traction building in Jamaica to decriminalize pot, meaning the dreadlocked Wailer, 67, and other adherents of Rastafari - a homegrown spiritual movement that considers the drug divine - may soon be able to smoke without fear of arrest.

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THE EDITOR, Sir:

Regarding your thoughtful June 15, 2014 editorial, Jamaica will never realise the full benefits of ganja-inspired tourism until marijuana is fully legal. You have some tough competition.

Tourism is booming in the US state of Colorado, where people can buy legal marijuana without fear. Do not miss the ganja boat.

United States President Barack Obama is allowing marijuana legalisation to move forward. The next US president may not be so enlightened.

ROBERT SHARPE

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KINGSTON, Jamaica, Jun 15, CMC - The Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) has taken issue with the changes proposed by the government in relation to the possession and smoking of marijuana.

The MAJ has warned that the relaxation of the laws will lead to more usage and consequently more mental problems among the population.

Justice Minister Mark Golding announced the changes last Thursday. Among the changes were that users of small quantities of marijuana will no longer have a criminal record, and smoking of the illegal drug would be de-criminalised under certain conditions.

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'BULL Chicken' is 61 years old, does any and all kinds of menial, tough, labour intensive jobs and is quite proud that "Mi neva si di inside a prison or jail yet."

Like his best friend Georgie, both were barely educated and cannot read. Both began smoking ganja in either their adolescent or early teen years. "Mi did have a uncle who was a bad man," said Georgie.

"When my father dig off and left wi, is mi uncle and mi granny raise mi. Mi uncle always a smoke weed and when mi bout 12 him used to gi mi him spliff and tell mi sey it will cool down mi brains."

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KINGSTON, Jamaica - Opposition Spokesperson on Information Olivia 'Babsy' Grange Thursday expressed her support for the government's decision to decriminalise the use of ganja in small amounts.

The decision, according to Grange is "the outcome of a journey undertaken by both political administrations, and a matter of social justice."

"It must be emphasized that the JLP Cabinet in 2011 approved the decriminalization of small amounts of ganja and the expunging of such criminal records , and that the relevant Ministry Paper was tabled in Parliament, Grange said in a release.

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JAMAICA'S decision to decriminalise small quantities of cannabis for personal use has attracted attention here in Britain. The BBC treated the announcement as important news and posted on its website the dramatic headline 'Jamaica Government announces major changes to drug laws'. The Guardian newspaper had the more factual 'Ganja free: Jamaica decriminalises marijuana for personal use'.

Comments online were largely favourable, but many referred to the perception that Jamaica had always been relatively tolerant of marijuana use. One comment was: "Even 20 years ago all you had to do to get stoned in Negril was to stick your head out the window and breathe in. Rasta men, both there and in Kingston, used to walk around with their own personal 'cloud' around them long before Apple".

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The devil, they say, is in the details. In that regard, we await the specifics of the legislative amendments promised by the justice minister, Mark Golding, to decriminalise the use of marijuana, or, as we call it in Jamaica, ganja.

Nonetheless, this newspaper supports the proposals that have been approved by the Cabinet, and outlined by Mr. Golding last week, although we believe that even as an initial step, they do not go far enough.

In so far as we understand the plan, to be given effect by legislation Mr. Golding says he will table before Parliament goes on its summer recess, the most fundamental undertaking will be the clearing of criminal records of tens of thousands of people in Jamaica, mostly young men who have been convicted for the possession of small amounts of ganja.

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Dr Henry Lowe, the founder and chief scientist with a local medicinal ganja research company, is optimistic that the Government will soon consider laws to govern the cultivation of the weed.

Yesterday, the Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding announced that the Government would be changing the law so that it is no longer a criminal offence to possess ganja weighing two ounces or less.

Instead offenders would be issued with a ticket payable outside of the courts.

The minister said the laws against the cultivation of the weed would remain in place.

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(AP) - Jamaica's government plans to partially decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in what supporters call a long-overdue rethinking of drug laws.

Justice Minister Mark Golding said Thursday that the cabinet was backing a proposal to make possession of no more than 2 ounces of marijuana a petty offense that could result in a fine but not a criminal arrest. The measures are almost certain to clear the legislature.

Marijuana has been pervasive but outlawed on the island for a century.

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Jamaica's government on Thursday announced a major rethinking of its marijuana laws, including plans to partly decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and to allow possession for religious, scientific and medical purposes. Justice Minister Mark Golding said the cabinet was backing a proposal to make possession of no more than two ounces of marijuana a petty offense that would result in a fine but not an arrest. The proposed changes "are not intended to promote or give a stamp of approval" to the use of the drug for recreational purposes, Mr. Golding said, but to provide "a more enlightened approach to dealing with possession of small quantities." The current law prohibiting marijuana remains in effect for now, but lawmakers are likely to amend it.

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Ganja Association Urges Country to Capitalize on Crops

KINGSTON, JAMAICA This tourist mecca may soon be known as the Colorado of the Caribbean.

Given the ready availability of "ganja" as the locals call it, outsiders may assume marijuana is legal in Jamaica, but it's not ... yet.

Encouraged by legalized marijuana in Colorado, Washington state and Uruguay - the first country to legalize and regulate the weed - Jamaican farmers and some politicians want to capitalize on what already is a homegrown industry with an international brand.

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Lobbyists urged Jamaica's government Sunday to move within 120 days to decriminalize pot and establish a local medical marijuana industry.

The Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Taskforce organized a three-day meeting on marijuana decriminalization with Jamaica's largest university. The conference, which drew speakers from the U.S. and Israel, ended Saturday.

On Sunday, the lobbyists issued a 12-point roadmap they want the government to follow. Among other things, they assert that Jamaica should immediately expunge criminal records for all Jamaicans convicted for possessing small amounts of marijuana and amend laws so private, personal use by adults is decriminalized.

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In a recent National Secondary School Survey of 3,365 students across 38 schools from 11 parishes, it was revealed that alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and solvents/inhalants continue to be the substances most commonly abused by students in Jamaica, which could lead to serious health issues down the road.

The survey showed that students in the 17-year-old age group were widely abusing alcohol, while those in the 15-16-year-old age group were heavily using cigarettes and marijuana.

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Dear Editor,

Regarding Mark Wignall's thoughtful April 27 column, 'Will we miss out on the ganja money?', the clock is ticking, Jamaica, don't miss the ganja boat.

United States President Barack Obama is allowing marijuana legalisation to move forward. The next president may not be so enlightened. Jamaica would be wise to legalise ganja now before the US starts using its superpower status to bully other nations once again.

It's not just about opportunistic timing, it's the right thing to do.

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Two years ago, right after the US presidential election, a reader wrote me the following: 'I just read your recent article on the recently concluded US election and one thing stuck out at me beyond anything else. It is the fact that one of the items on the ballots that Americans were asked to decide on was the legalisation of marijuana. Many of the states, even those in the conservative mid-West of the country, voted not only to legalise marijuana for medicinal purposes, but also for personal use.

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THE EDITOR, Sir:

Cannabis is an industry that shows promise in the current job market. It is estimated that job openings in the cannabis industry have grown more than 3,000 per cent since 2005. In the United States, the market for legal marijuana, in which 20 states allow medical marijuana use and Washington and Colorado allow recreational marijuana use, could be worth $2.5 billion by the end of this year, according to the marijuana industry research firm ArcView Group.

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THE EDITOR, Sir:

Would it not simplify matters if the regulations on smoking included tobacco/nicotine and ganja/marijuana/cannabis, especially with the anticipated decriminalisation of weed in Jamaica?

Neither tobacco nor ganja is harmless, and I think they should be treated similarly.

Mandeville, Manchester

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As Canadian Rules Change, Nation Looks to Cash in on Export Market

Jamaica has spent plenty of money on marketing and police as it has tried to scrub its reputation as a reefer lover's paradise. But the global legalization movement, and encouragement from at least one Canadian company, has the island nation poised to cash in on its old brand.

With American states such as Colorado and Washington now regulating the use of recreational marijuana, and Canada's new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), which allow for the licenced import of the drug, coming into force on April 1, other countries are looking to get into the export market.

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THE EDITOR, Sir:

Regarding Aldyth Buck-land's letter on Saturday, March 8, 2014 titled 'Yes, ganja can damage the brain', I should take the good doctor to task with a few pointers.

1. Why don't you print your findings in the New England Journal of Medicine, not the Jamaica Gleaner. Scare-mongering doesn't work on people anymore.

2. I'm quite sure more people are harmed using sugar than those who use marijuana. Have you ever studied that?

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THE EDITOR, Sir:

Marijuana is a gateway drug. Its use has side effects that affect the structure and function of the brain.

Yes, marijuana can damage the brain! Dr Daniel Amen has done SPECT brain scans on persons who have abused substances, including marijuana. In one study, he looked at a 57-year-old physician who had abused cannabis for 30 years. This doctor was unable to stop using it because of feelings of anger, irritability, agitation and anxiety when he tried to quit.

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THE EDITOR, Sir: Why the tiptoeing on the medical marijuana industry?

Recently, Senator A.J. Nicholson, QC, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, asserted that legalisation of marijuana was not on the Government's agenda. Are we to understand that the decriminalisation of marijuana for medical purposes is also not on the agenda?

Since 2001, there has been much discourse on the legalisation of marijuana, and, recently, the decriminalisation of marijuana for medical purposes has occurred. Apparently, the ubiquitous discussions on the medical-marijuana industry remain piffling. Implicitly, the minister's assertion serves to obfuscate the issue and scuttle the progress made so far, rather than to fast-track appropriate legislation to support the potential industry.

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