MONTEGO BAY (IPS) - "Traditionally people have had it, and put it in bottles with rum and used it for various ailments. Over the years, it got demonised by the United States," Freckleton told IPS.

Called ganja in Jamaica, mention of marijuana, or cannabis, tends to conjure up images of hedonistic tourists smoking "weed" with easy-going Jamaicans.. The reality for thousands of Jamaicans has been far different, however.

Possession of marijuana, even in the small amounts present in a ganja cigarette, popularly known as a spliff, is a criminal offence. The police every year drag hundreds of Jamaicans -- most of them poor young men -- before the courts, where they are fined sums as low as five U.S. dollars, but left with a criminal record.

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