Ganja Law

The Ganja Law, or Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015, was passed by Jamaica's Houses of Parliament in February 2015. The law went into effect on April 15, 2015, making possession of two ounces or less of cannabis a "non-arrestable, ticketable offence, that attracts no criminal record".[1][2] Jis.gov claims "It also puts in place, regulations for marijuana use by persons of the Rastafarian faith and for medical, therapeutic and scientific purposes, including development of a legal industry for industrial hemp and medical marijuana."[3] Earlier revisions of the laws were critiqued for being unduly harsh on citizens. A 1913 law passed to conform to the International Opium Convention unilaterally added cannabis, and was seen as "fear of the black population".[4] For instance the 1964 ganja law was considered to be punitive towards poor people, as were the 1963 and 1965 laws regarding flogging.[5]

References
  1. "'Ganja law' to take effect today". Jamaica Observer. April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  2. Richards, Anika (October 10, 2016). "Ganja law scolding". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  3. "America Claims Policies Like 'Ganja Law' Don't Go Far Enough". November 17, 2015.
  4. Chevannes, Barry (2013), "Criminalizing cultural practice: The case of Ganja in Jamaica", in Axel Klein; Marcus Day; Anthony Harriott (eds.), Caribbean Drugs: From Criminalization to Harm Reduction, Zed, p. 86, ISBN 9781848136229
  5. Gray, Obika (1991), Radicalism and Social Change in Jamaica, 1960-1972, Univ. of Tennessee Press, p. 122


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