KINGSTON, Jamaica:

The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, says the plan by the Jamaican Government to decriminalise marijuana by year end is long overdue.

Decriminalisation would result in the abolition of criminal penalties and would require appropriate amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, Phillip Paulwell, yesterday confirmed that action would be taken this year in keeping with parliamentary approval.

Spokesperson on Justice, Alexander Williams, says the decision is a step in the right direction and the Opposition is looking forward to the parliamentary debate on the matter.

He says focus should now be placed on the full legalisation of marijuana for medical purposes.

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERSMario Oriani-Ambrosini became emotional when Jacob Zuma addressed him in Parliament on Thursday. Picture: DAVID RITCHIE

Cape Town -

IFP MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini’s urgent call for the legalisation of dagga for medicinal use seems to have found an ear in the country’s top office.

The Medical Innovation Bill, a bill to legalize Cannabis in South Africa for medical, economic and industrial purposes, was introduced in parliament today.

The bill was submitted by Member of Parliament, Mario GR Oriani-Ambrosini from the Inkatha Freedom Party. The Medical Innovation Bill aims to make provision for innovations in medical treatments by legalising the use of cannabis for medical, economic and industrial purposes.

MOSCOW, February 14. /ITAR-TASS/. The chief of Russia’s federal drug control service FSKN has met with university students, who in the spring will take part in the youth summit Y8 Russia 2014 in the run-up to a meeting of G8 anti-drug agencies, to explain why he is so firmly against the legalization of light narcotic drugs.

“I am very negative about the idea of legalization, and it cannot be otherwise,” Ivanov said in response to a question from the student audience.

A Swiss parliamentary committee looking into drug issues wants to reopen the debate on the legalization of marijuana in the wake of developments in the US, Uruguay and New Zealand.

Steve Lyston, Contributor

Ezekiel 34: 29 says: And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen anymore.

Without a doubt, God created plants, herbs and vegetation for the healing of the nation and this is something I have always advocated. Some even believe that Revelation 22: 1-2 is making reference to marijuana and that it carries 12 benefits to heal the nation. However, if there are those who want to argue on that basis, they have to be very careful that it won't open a can of worms that they can't shut.

Delano Seiveright, Guest Columnist

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the Jamaica Stock Exchange's 2014 Capital Markets Conference in Kingston on investment opportunities from legalising ganja.

The last several days and weeks have seen a literal cascade of positive developments on the issue, so much so that even United States President Barack Obama stated publicly that ganja is no more dangerous than alcohol, pointed to the unfair state of affairs at the criminal-justice level, and noted that the legalisation in Colorado and Washington was "important" because it represented the decriminalisation of a commonly used substance.

It's almost too taboo to discuss: pregnant women & marijuana. It's a dirty little secret for women, particularly during the harrowing first trimester, who turn to cannabis for relief from nausea and stress. 
 

Pregnant women in Jamaica use marijuana regularly to relieve nausea, as well as to relieve stress and depression, often in the form of a tea or tonic.

In the late 1960s, grad student Melanie Dreher was chosen by her professors to perform an ethnographic study on marijuana use in Jamaica to observe and document its usage and its consequences among pregnant women.