WASHINGTON, DC, USA — The United States Government has signalled some discomfort with Jamaica's move to decriminalise marijuana for specific uses.
According to assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), William R Brownfield, there is a possibility that the move could increase inflows of marijuana from Jamaica that now accounts for 80 per cent of ganja illegally smuggled into that country.
Brownfield said that, while the US must be tolerant of national policies to combat the illicit trade of ganja, Jamaica must be mindful of international drug treaties to which it is a signatory.
Brownfield was responding to a question concerning last Friday's tabling of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015 in the Jamaican Senate, which seeks to, among other things, decriminalise ganja for medicinal, religious, and personal uses. With the amendments, the possession of small quantities of ganja, amounting to two ounces or less, will become a non-arrestable offence. The Bill also seeks to reform the monetary penalties laid down by the Act.
"...With or without the legalisation of ganja, the decriminalisation of ganja... the importation of ganja into the US remains against the law and the issue then is how much impact will legalisation or decriminalisation have on that. And, I can assure you that, from the US side, we will continue to pursue maximum efforts to prevent any import in the United States and we will request and expect complete co-operation from law enforcement authorities of the Government of Jamaica in eliminating this sort of trafficking," Brownfield told journalists Tuesday.more
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