| More than 20 years ago, reggae singer Peter Tosh was admonished for writing "Legalize It," a song that called for the decriminalization of marijuana. In Jamaica today, some of the people who would have condemned Tosh's demand are now singing the same tune. Marijuana, or "ganja" as it is popularly referred to in this country, has had a tumultuous history in Jamaica where it has been banned under the Dangerous Drugs Act since 1924. But in recent times, some of the country's prominent public leaders have called on the government to relax restrictions on the weed. Response to the calls have been muted, but many believe it is time the "smokescreen" around the embattled weed be lifted. Since Rastafarian dub poet Jesse Jendau's bold presentation of a small package of ganja to Prime Minister Percival Patterson at Jamaica House (the Prime Minister's official residence) in early August, there has been a flood of lobbying by political and public leaders for legislation that would make marijuana use legal. Independent senator Trevor Munroe and former commissioner of police, Trevor MacMillan, got the ball rolling by pointing to the social benefits of marijuana should it be legalized. Paul Burke, a firebrand politician, raised a few eyebrows when, addressing a session of the ruling People's National Party, he too insisted that Jamaicans follow the path of some European countries by easing restrictions on the plant. "Comrades, I am not advocating the smoking of ganja, the plant can be used in other forms," Burke told the gathering. "It's time we woke up." One week after Burke's speech, Peter Phillips, the country's Transport Minister and a former Rastafarian, admitted that he smoked ganja during the 1970s when he was a member of the sect. |
| The wave of support for a plant that has consistently stirred heated debate is good news to Dennis Forsythe, a lawyer and former sociology professor at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Forsythe, 54, is a Rastafarian and author of the book, "For The Healing of the Nation" which outlines the attributes of marijuana. Over the years, Forsythe has been harassed and arrested by the police for his views. Indeed, he charges that his liberal views caused him to lose his job at the UWI where he had taught since 1969. "We have to listen to what these people are saying, because it's absurd to turn citizens into criminals because of outdated laws," said Forsythe. Forsythe, who admits that he sometimes smokes marijuana, was arrested in 1996 when police raided his St. Andrew home and found a quantity of ganja. The following year, he appealed to Jamaica's Constitutional Court for the especially by Rastas," Forsythe said. "Rastas don't get high off ganja, young people are the ones who do that for excitement." As advocates of ganja worldwide point to the various benefits that the plant offers, the crackdown on the weed has loosened considerably. In Europe, it is legal in some countries. In the United States, marijuana-growing states such as California have developed a major industry around hemp, the cloth made from marijuana plants that has become the new find of the fashion world. That has never been the case in Jamaica, where the plant has long been associated with mental illness and crime. Because Rastas are associated with the drug -- the smoking of the weed is part of their ritual -- many here have traditionally regarded it as an evil plant. |
| In 1954, when police raided Pinnacle, a Rastafarian homestead on the outskirts of Kingston, they found several hectares of ganja and thousands of dollars believed to be the gains from sale of the weed. In 1963, when a group of Rastafarians killed four people and set ablaze a gas station in the tourism resort of Montego Bay, the police report contended that their actions were due to the influence of marijuana. In the aftermath of the Montego Bay incident, those found with even a small amount of the weed were jailed. Reggae singers Toots Hibbert, Bunny Wailer and Tosh were all jailed for smoking pot. Few persons believe government will be taking steps to legalize the plant anytime soon. Security Minister Keith Knight blamed the widespread use of ganja in the inner-cities for the recent upsurge in crime throughout Kingston, and plans to introduce strong measures to prohibit its use. Observers say this is an indication that advocates like Dennis Forsythe may have to wait a while longer for marijuana to have its day in Jamaica. |
