Chant down Babylon!

Dec 10, 2015 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The crescendo to change the marijuana laws is occurring alongside some strange, unusual, mysterious actions by Magistrates who loved to jail people for a few grams of marijuana. But first, the man whose imprisonment started the “itation” of intended change – Vibert Butts.
Butts was a famous Guyanese footballer who has carved his name in sports history by becoming the first footballer to score a goal in the World Cup preliminary round against Surinam. Butts was jailed by Fabayo Azore for both possession of ganja and ownership of a smoking utensil.
Since then, we have some strange movements in courts especially in the arena of Magistrate Ann McLennan. Here is a brief quote from my Monday column; “Crawford was sentenced to a fine of $15,000 along with six weeks of community service. Taite was fined $5000 and ordered to perform six weeks of community service, while Augustus was fined $12,000 and ordered to perform five weeks of community service.”
These three persons were arrested and charged in Kitty. Before the Butts tempest, one could have predicted that a jail term would have been imposed. Then Magistrate McLennan had more surprises in store for human rights activists.
Six Lindeners charged for ganja trafficking last week were each assigned $20, 000. The fine for the Kitty trio and the modest bail for the six Lindeners were directions one could hardly believe the Magistrate would have taken. Not only Ms. McLennan but all Magistrates have a pattern of either remanding such accused or imposing a gargantuan bail that was beyond the reach of the defendant.
In fact, Chief Justice Chang set an imposing bail on Butts. It amounted to over half a million dollars.
On the conviction of possession of a smoking utensil, the Chief Justice assigned bail at $100,000. Persons can get jailed for the possession of a smoking utensil. As we are on the topic of the Chief Justice, I had several calls from curious folks asking me what the connection is between Chief Mike and the Chief Justice, because in the caption of my Tuesday column, I mentioned Chief Mike.
I did say there will be a forthcoming article on Chief Mike, so I’ll leave it there. Let’s get back to the cry for changes in the marijuana law. An elegant and illuminating letter has been published in the Tuesday, Dec 8 edition of this newspaper headlined, “Possession of 56 grams of ganja in Jamaica is not a criminal offence.”
What a mess this country is and perhaps will always be. The number is not in the dozens but maybe in the hundreds of those who went to jail for far less than 56 grams of marijuana. The alleviation in the penalties is inevitable. The pressure is mounting on politicians to amend the law but there is also pressure from another quarter – African rights groups are beginning to realize that this 1987 law by President Desmond Hoyte has outlived any usefulness it ever had in the first place.
African rights activists are bound to argue that Hoyte’s law is aimed at and has targeted specifically African youths. The issue is bound to manifest its ugly presence at both national and local elections in the immediate future.
The jailing of Vibert Butts has propelled the abomination of the harsh marijuana sentencing into the national spotlight. Why in so many countries, a small amount of marijuana is legal but people could be hauled before the courts for a gram of ganja in Guyana?
As the letter referred to above states, in Jamaica possession of 56 grams is not a criminal offence. What should not escape the attention of the critics of this law is the fact that it is also being used by policemen to target only one section of the Guyanese society, and it allows too much latitude to Magistrates who are unreasonable, unconscionable humans.
The Vibert Butts case has a dimension to it that is sad. He was a famous footballer, whose legacy galvanized others to highlight his case, including this columnist. But think of the hundreds who didn’t have the status of a Vibert Butts. Their lives have been destroyed. We have no study available but the number of young men who have had their future devastated by the imprisonment for tiny amounts of marijuana must be staggering.
The second most evil aspect of the marijuana tragedy is the use of the police force to hunt down these people. Just last week they raided a sports complex in Linden and went on the roof to charge six men for ganja possession.
Who is the police force directing these ranks to pursue ganja smokers and not big cocaine traffickers?

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