Legislation towards new Ganja Industry to be tabled in January

Justice Minister Mark Golding says legislation aimed at creating a new marijuana industry will be tabled in Parliament next month as the legislation has been drafted and is currently being reviewed

He said it is expected that the legislation will  take between two to four weeks before it is passed, unless it is usurped by bills requiring greater priority.                      

He also announced that the country will not legalise ganja at this time.

Ganja lobbyists have pointed out that with Uruguay and four U.S. states legalising ganja, Jamaica should follow suit or be left behind.But according to  Golding  the circumstances are different.

He said  with Jamaica having a history of being a transshipment point for drugs – there would be a different reaction if  the drug is legalised.

He noted  that the recent pronouncement from the Obama Administration not to use federal law enforcers to prosecute ganja users in states which have legalised the drug, does not give Jamaica the green light to follow suit.

Lobbyists contend, that once ganja remains illegal, the profit from its growth and distribution will remain in the hands of  criminals.

They say legalising ganja would transfer the profit from criminals to the government in the form of  taxes, licenses and fees.