‘Ganja’ rules are relaxed on island

Jamaica’s Parliament gave final approval on Tuesday night to an act decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and establishing a licensing agency to regulate a lawful medical marijuana industry.

The historic amendments pave the way for a “cannabis licensing authority” to be established to deal with regulating the cultivation and distribution of marijuana for medical and scientific purposes. Both houses of Jamaica’s legislature have approved the legislation.

In a victory for religious freedom, adherents of the homegrown Rastafari spiritual movement can now freely use marijuana for sacramental purposes for the first time on the tropical island.

The Jamaica legislation came the same day that Alaska became the third US state to legalize recreational use of marijuana for adults, after Colorado and Washington.

The Jamaica law makes possession of up to 2 ounces (56.7 grams) of marijuana a petty offense that could result in a ticket but not a criminal record.

Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises will be permitted. Tourists who are prescribed medical marijuana abroad will soon be able to apply for permits authorizing them to buy small amounts of Jamaican weed, or “ganja” as it is known locally.

Peter Bunting, the island’s national security minister, said the legislation does not mean Jamaica plans to soften its stance on transnational drug trafficking or cultivation of illegal plots. Jamaica has long been considered the Caribbean’s largest supplier of pot to the US.

“The passage of this legislation does not create a free-for-all in the growing, transporting, dealing or exporting of ganja. The security forces will continue to rigorously enforce Jamaican law consistent with our international treaty obligations,” Bunting said in Parliament.

Jamaican officials now have high hopes that the island can become a player in the nascent medical marijuana industry, health tourism and the development of innovative pot-derived items.