Proposed ganja legislation causes raised eyebrows

Jan 05, 2016 News

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 …Ramjattan says increasing the amount of cannabis considered to be a trafficking offence is foolish.
The new Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015, which proposes lighter sentencing  for possession of ganja could have its debut reading in the National Assembly on Thursday; however, the Bill is raising eyebrows in the National Security Ministry.
National Security Minister, KhemrajRamjattan, is calling for the proposed amendments Bill to be further fine-tuned at the Cabinet level. It is difficult to know whether the drug is for personal use or for trafficking, he said.
He stated that while he supports non-custodial sentences for first-time marijuana offenders, the issue should be pursued cautiously. Therefore, he said, it was applicable for the proposed Bill to be further evaluated in Cabinet before there is universal approval.
APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington, will be moving a motion in the National Assembly on Thursday for the introduction and reading of the Bill. The Bill is listed under the private members’ business on the Order Paper.
The legislation was drafted after much public protests over the sentencing and imprisonment of national football coach, Vibert Butts, for possession of marijuana. Butts was sentenced to three years imprisonment for possession of 46 grammes of ganja, which he claimed was for private use. He was later placed on bail and his sentence is being appealed.
The proposed legislation is expected to remove provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act 1988, which requires Magistrates to imprison anyone who pleads guilty to or has been found guilty of possession of marijuana.
At present, the law indicates that anyone found in possession of marijuana is liable to a fine of $10,000 or three times the monetary value of the drug. If in excess of 15 grams of cannabis it is mandated that the offender should be sentenced to a minimum of three years’ imprisonment.
Almost daily, many persons are tried and sentenced for possession of small amounts of marijuana; most of them are first-time offenders and youths. Several Rastafarian organisations and social activists have cried out against the severe penalty and have called for it to be relaxed.
“I support the amendment but I do not support the increase from 15 grams…The amount is not too strict but the penalty is. Fifteen grams could be used for trafficking so how would we know when it is being trafficked or when it is being used for personal use? These small amounts of marijuana are trafficked to school children and people who are vulnerable…so why should we sanction that?”
The absence of a comprehensive sentencing policy, he said, is an issue that needs to be addressed by the judicial system. He stated that clear guidelines ought to be worked out for the sentencing of first offenders.
Additionally, he stated that the religious community has raised its voice against the decriminalization of marijuana, saying that they were of the opinion that the proposed amendment would “open the flood-gates” for marijuana to be legalized.
Attorney General and Minster of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, had stated the Bill was not presented to the House under the hand of the government and that it should undergo national consultation.
An advocate for non-custodial sentences for possession of small amounts of marijuana, Williams said: “…Certainly possession of certain amounts should not attract custodial sentences…I thought in marginal cases considerations could be given for non-custodial sentences.”
The Rastafarians are asking that the government remove the mandatory imprisonment for persons convicted of possessing two ounces or 56 grams of marijuana for personal use while lobbying for it to be legalized.
Activist Mark Benschop stated that the Bill being placed on the Order Paper is a good sign that the political parties in Parliament are prepared to address the issue. He said that he hopes good sense will prevail and the House would vote in favor for the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of ganja.
“It is a step in the right direction,” he said, adding that it was about time Guyana move forward in amendment laws and penalties that are too severe.
Nigel Hughes, one of the attorneys who drafted the legislation, stated, “As a service provider in the legal profession since the current legislation was enacted in 1988, the social carnage which has been generated as result of this act is simply horrendous”.
He argued that the national situation at that time led to the adoption of this “foreign prescriptive legislation”.
The legislation is divided into three sections: Amendment of Section 4 of the Principal Act;   the Amendment of Section 5 of the Principal Act; and the Amendment of Section 12 of the Principle Act. According to the draft:
1)    Section 4 (1) (a) (i) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the words “together with imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than five years;
2)    Section 4 (1) (a) (i) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the words “together with imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than five years; Section 4 (1) (b) (ii) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the words “together with imprisonment for not less than five years nor more than ten years”;
3) Section 5 (2) (e) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the words “fifteen grams of cannabis or cannabis resin”.
4) Section 5(2) (e) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the words one thousand grams of cannabis or cannabis resin.
5) Section 12 (1) (a) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the word cannabis.
6) Section 12 (1) (b) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the word cannabis.
7) Section 12 (1) (c) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the word cannabis.
8) Section 12 (1) (d) of the Principal Act is amended by deleting the word cannabis.
This Bill is founded on the experience of several citizens—primarily youths who have been incarcerated for small quantities of cannabis or cannabis resin and who as a result of their incarceration have been unnecessarily economically and socially disadvantaged.
Moreover, it stated that many of these young people who were remanded and incarcerated have been exposed to persons who have been accused of and have been involved in much more serious violent offences.
“We have witnessed too many daughters and sons’ lives ruined as a result of their incarceration whether on remand or pursuant to a sentence. Perhaps the time has come for us to take responsibility for having unjust, cruel and unusual penalties for possession of cannabis,” Hughes lamented.

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