The Jamaica Gleaner of Wednesday, May 1, has published an article, New Era for Ganja, that reveals an envisaged significant step towards the possible removal of the scourge of illegality, and worse, that have for decades, hovered over efforts to completely sanitize the ‘stain’ that has attached itself to what is commonly referred to as ‘ganja’. The Gleaner report alludes to a disclosure that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug,” a move which the report describes as “a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.”
In the first instance, however, Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean will see it as a breakthrough at several levels, not least, at the levels of the entertainment, medicinal and cosmetics’ industries, where even in its current unbanned condition the extent of its popularity has made it an enormous money-earner. The industry, however, remains some distance away from a ‘praise Jah’ exhalation, since, as the Gleaner report points out, the ‘proposal’ will require review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is likely to go no further than “recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs.” Crucially, however, the Gleaner article says, “whatever happens would not amount to an outright legalization ‘for recreational use.’”
The Gleaner report claims considerable official confirmation that once the issue clears what it describes as “the last significant regulatory hurdle,” the official policy change will be virtually home and dry. The report on the disclosure contain some other important but seemingly less formidable hurdles that remain to be crossed before marijuana is removed from the confines within which it currently exists and is used. While the Gleaner report refers to various other procedures that must precede a final ruling, the proposal for the so-called ‘freeing up’ of marijuana “will be formally signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose agency has ultimate oversight of the DEA”, according to the Gleaner report.
The Gleaner report notes that in October, 2022, President Joe Biden had called for a review of federal marijuana laws and moved to “pardon thousands of Americans convicted federally of simple possession of the drug,” the Gleaner report states. According to the report, the US President “has also called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.” The response to this development in the Caribbean, as a whole, where marijuana still dwells in a legal ‘twilight zone’ and where, in the instance of Guyana, raids on marijuana farms, destruction of crop, and arrests and convictions remain commonplace, the anticipated development in the United States is likely to be noted rather than significantly celebrated.
Earlier this week, news broke here in Guyana of the unearthing of a ‘stash’ of marijuana with a reported street value of G$295 million along with two firearms during raids of suspected farms along the Berbice river. What has long been an enormous global cannabis market is projected to reach revenue amounting to US$64.73bn this year.
