Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer

Jamaicans still 'look down' on individuals who smoke ganja - relating the activity solely with the poor and underprivileged.

Advocates for the decriminalisation at a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum said it was unfortunate that the image of ganja users has remained the same for years, when usage cuts across all social classes.

Long-time ganja advocate Paul Chang, chair of the Ganja Law Reform Coalition (GLRC) said there was still too much shame associated with ganja usage because there are too many misconceptions about the narcotic.

Scientist urges Gov't to facilitate Ja tapping into multibillion-dollar medical marijuana industry

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

A prominent Jamaican scientist has challenged the Government to pave the way for the development of a medical ganja industry, which would go a far way in providing cost-effective treatment for a number of lifestyle diseases, including diabetes, glaucoma and schizophrenia, while yielding enormous economic benefits for the country.

Dr Henry Lowe says Jamaica is missing out on hundreds of billions of dollars which could be earned from the wide range of cosmeceutical, neutraceutical and pharmaceutical products being developed across the world.

Jodi-Ann Gilpin, Gleaner Writer

When hundreds of people are hauled before the courts weekly for ganja use, when they are jailed or asked to pay a fine, or when Rastafarians are arrested for using the herb as sacrament, attorney-at-law Lord Anthony Gifford has a problem with it. To him, charging people for ganja use is a serious human-rights issue.

Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street offices in Kingston yesterday, he said the time has come to look at the real benefits of the substance and be practical.

"I see this as a serious human-rights issue," he told the forum.

Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer

Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe has welcomed the decision by celebrity doctor and chief medical correspondent of the Cable News Network (CNN), Sanjay Gupta, to join those endorsing the medical properties of ganja.

Gupta, who was President Barack Obama's pick for Surgeon General, previously strongly opposed the use of ganja for any reason.

But he recently admitted that he has been part of those misleading individuals on the medical uses of the weed.

"Gupta has seen the light and although his apology is late, it is welcomed," said Lowe in an interview with The Sunday Gleaner.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT of the Senate, Angela Brown Burke, says the country should legalise the use of cannabis for medicinal reasons.

Brown Burke, contributing to a debate on plant genetics in the Senate on Friday, said Cannabis sativa, or marijuana, represents a worthwhile economic opportunity that the country should seek to tap.

Brown Burke expressed the hope that very soon the list of products covered by plant genetic resources for food and agriculture treaty would be expanded by the research and work of Jamaicans and that cannabis could be added.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS in the production of legal drugs from marijuana in Britain has put the spotlight on the potential of ganja as a source of legitimate earnings here.

In a recent article in The Economist, it was disclosed that victims of multiple sclerosis (MS) since June 21 this year can legally purchase a marijuana-based medicine known as Sativex in Britain to alleviate the excruciating pain and spasms associated with their condition.

1. Unlike alcohol and tobacco which are legal substances, ganja is illegal in Jamaica. Under the Dangerous Drugs Act, any person who possesses or uses ganja is guilty of an offence and, on convection, shall be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, or both.

In addition, this person has a criminal record. The sale, purchase, possession, cultivation, trafficking and exportation of ganja are illegal in Jamaica. I am not calling for the use of ganja to be made legal in Jamaica; what I am calling for is the decriminalisation of ganja.