Jamaica to decriminalise marijuana

Jamaica is to decriminalise small amounts of marijuana and establish a licensing agency to regulate its use for medicinal purposes.

Possession of up to 2oz is of the drug is to be made a petty offence which would not result in a criminal record, it was announced.

Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises would be permitted in Jamaica, where the drug has long been culturally entrenched, but illegal.

The law paves the way for a "cannabis licensing authority" to be set up to deal with regulations on cultivation and distribution of marijuana for medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes.

Rastafarians can also legally use marijuana now for religious purposes for the first time on the tropical island, where the spiritual movement was founded in the 1930s.

And tourists who are prescribed medical marijuana abroad will soon be able to apply for permits at a cost authorising them to legally buy small amounts of Jamaican weed, or "ganja" as it is known locally.

Peter Bunting, the island's National Security Minister, said authorisation of the law does not mean that Jamaican government plans to soften its stance on transnational drug trafficking or cultivation of illegal plots.

"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," he told Parliament.

Before the vote, William Brownfield, US assistant secretary for counter-narcotics affairs, said: "Jamaican law is of course Jamaica's own business, and Jamaica's sovereign decision." But he noted that the trafficking of marijuana into America remained against the law.

"We expect that Jamaica and all states party to the UN Drug Conventions will uphold their obligations, including a firm commitment to combating and dismantling criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking," he said.