SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER, 2018 – UWI TODAY
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EU-CARICOM LAW CONFERENCE: MARIJUANA AND THE LAW PRESENTATION
cannabis is not recommended for young people whose
brains are still developing.
But for adults who use cannabis, the CARICOM
Commission on Marijuana found that on balance, the
proven medical benefits of cannabis in several areas
outweigh the risks.
Marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes
for more than 3,000 years. Medical marijuana is used
for treatment of glaucoma and epilepsy. There are at
least two active chemicals in marijuana that can have
medicinal applications. Those are cannabidiol (CBD)
and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC has pain-
relieving properties and is largely responsible for the
high. People take cannabidiol by mouth for anxiety,
bipolar disorder, a muscle disorder called dystonia,
seizures, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and
schizophrenia. THC extracts are used to treat nausea
from cancer medicines, to increase appetites in AIDS
patients, and for other uses.
For most of our Caribbean history, marijuana was
a free substance, grown naturally and easily throughout
the region, and part of many people’s ethnic cultural
heritage, noted Prof Antoine. Current draconian
ganja laws were responses to international treaties
which deemed cannabis a “dangerous drug” without
any value, medicinal or otherwise, she said. “Harsh,
criminal penalties were then imposed on cannabis in
all its forms within a context of strict liability, meaning
no discretion or mitigation is allowed.This was despite
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis is a psychoactive drug from the
Cannabis plant used for medical, recreational or
spiritual purposes. The main psychoactive part of
cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of
483 known compounds in the plant. Cannabis can
be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as
an extract.
Countries that have legalized the
medical
use of cannabis include Australia, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the
Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sri Lanka and the United
Kingdom. About 30 states in the US have legalised
medical marijuana.
Canada (effective 17 October 2018) and
Uruguay are the only countries that have fully
legalized the consumption and sale of
recreational
cannabis nationwide. In the United States, nine
states and the District of Columbia have legalized
sales and consumption although it remains
federally illegal.
At right, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine at the recent EU-CARICOM Law Conference held September 26-27 at the University Inn ad
Conference Centre, St Augustine. Seen to her left is Ambassador of the European Union to T&T, Arend Biesebroek.
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
Recommendations
CARICOMMember States shouldact together
to formulate a formal, regional positionwith a
clear, informed roadmap, togive credibility to
policy reform initiatives. Consider partnering
with powerful allies like those in Europe,
Canada, Uruguay and other Latin American
states, to press for amendments to the
Conventions.
In the interim, Member States should declare
that the treaties contravene human rights
principles in CARICOM states to ground a
justification for avoiding treaty obligations.
Dismantle cannabis prohibition. Replace
it with a regulated framework akin to that
for alcohol and tobacco, which are harmful
substances that are not criminalised.
Classify cannabis as a“controlled substance”,
and not a “dangerous drug”with “no value”.
Legalisemarijuana use for medical purposes.
Remove all criminal penalties frommarijuana
laws. In this way, cannabis sales and profits
will no longer be treated as proceeds of crime
under anti-money laundering and proceeds
of crime legislation.
Protect children and young people from
cannabis by prohibiting its use for certain
age limits, except for medical reasons.
Pass drug-driving laws.
Decriminalise possession of small amounts
of ganja for use in private households and
for personal use. Thismeans allowing limited
home-growing for a small number of plants.
the lack of scientific or medical data to support this
classification,” said Prof Antoine.
She explained: “This is significant given that the
harshness of the law was premised on this supposed
egregious harm. There is credible evidence that its
acquisition of an illegal status was also due to attempts
to stifle competition with alcohol, which had just
emerged out of prohibition itself. This classification,
first in international treaties, was spearheaded by
the US and was automatically followed domestically.
Documents declassified and released to the public
in 2002 illustrate that the US Shafer Commission,
established by Nixon to cement marijuana laws, came
to the opposite conclusion. Its 1972 Report to the
US Congress challenged this classification, finding
that marijuana presented little harm and could ‘not
justify the intrusion by the criminal law into private
behaviour’.”
Prof Antoine said the CARICOM Marijuana
Commission found that “the existing prohibitionist
regime induces more harm than any possible adverse
consequences of cannabis/marijuana itself.”
She noted we can learn some lessons not only from
the EuropeanUnion but alsomore close to home, from
Jamaica, which decriminalised ganja three years ago
in 2015. She said “there has not been any discernible
increase in use, or in psychosis cases. Further, criminal
arrests have decreased, and Jamaica has begun to reap
benefits from the cannabis industry.”
For adults who use
cannabis, the CARICOM
Commission on Marijuana
found that on balance, the
proven medical benefits of
cannabis in several areas
outweigh the risks.
