US backlash against ganja - Embassy official warns of decertification for Jamaica

By David Williams, Freelance Writer

GOVERNMENT COULD be setting itself up for a major diplomatic backlash, mainly from the United States, if it accepts the recommendation of the Barry Chevannes-chaired National Commission on Ganja to decriminalise the use of the herb for private, personal use.

Responding to the Commission's report which recommended an end to sanctions for private, personal use of marijuana in small quantities, a US Embassy official yesterday stated that the Government of the United States does not support decriminalisation, and indicated that the island's final decision on the matter would be subjected to intense scrutiny.

"The US administration opposes the decriminalisation of marijuana use," said embassy spokesman, Michael Koplovsky, in a terse response to queries about their position given international agreements signed with Jamaica.

"The US Government will consider Jamaica's adherence to its commitments under the 1988 UN Drug Convention when making its determination under the annual narcotics certification review," he said.

This means that Jamaica, the biggest ganja-growing and exporting country in the region, is likely to be denied certification from the US Government as a country making efforts to fight against illegal drugs in accordance with the objectives of the UN Drug Convention. Jamaica became a party to the Convention in 1995.

Certification is an annually renewable stamp of approval identifying countries as having co-operated fully with the United States government in the war on drugs, or having taken adequate steps on their own to achieve full compliance with the goals established by the Convention.

Countries which do not receive certification and those that are decertified lose most of their foreign assistance from the United States, and the US is required to vote against any assistance to that country from major multilateral lending agencies, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development bank and the IMF.

Sociologist Dr. Dennis Forsythe last night denounced the threat of decertification as an attack on Jamaica's sovereignty, typical of US big stick diplomacy and hypocrisy.

Dr. Forsythe, who won a landmark victory in the Constitutional Court in 1997 which acknowledged his right to possess and use marijuana for religious purposes under Section 21 of the Constitution, said decriminalisation will "satisfy a basic need of the Jamaican people" and will not infringe on the rights of others because cannabis will not be exported.

"This is a domestic affair. It is a recommendation for self-help, not to export ganja, so we are not imposing it on anybody," he told The Gleaner.

"The Commission's recommendation is in keeping with the sentiments of the Jamaican people. If America is so much for democracy then to deny us certification because of this is in flagrant breach of such principles," he said.

Among its list of its recommendations to Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, the Ganja Commission advised that urgent diplomatic initiatives be embarked upon with foreign countries to elicit support for Jamaica's stance on the drug and to influence other countries to re-examine its status.

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