Alliance for Change (AFC) Leader and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan has said that his party is in full support of the amendment to the Narcotics and Psychotro-pic Substances Act that has been tabled by one of its members.
Asked whether the amendment is also supported by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), the AFC’s partner in government, he said, “I can’t say, but I can say for the AFC members it’s fully supported. I think you can direct your question to the APNU members,” he told reporters on Wednesday last following the launch of the Citizen Security Strengthening Programme.
“We support Michael Carrington’s amendment,” the minister stressed. He added that while the amendment will come up soon, he could not say when, but it would need to have cabinet approval.
Under Guyana’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, possession of over 15 grammes of cannabis attracts a charge of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and any person summarily convicted of that offence is liable to a sentence of at least three years but no more than five years in prison and a fine of at least $30,000 or the equivalent of three times the street value of the drug.
Carrington’s proposed amendment, which was listed under private members’ business on the Parliament Order Paper since last year, seeks to soften penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use.
It followed public outcry over the sentencing in November last year of football coach Vibert Butts to three years imprisonment for possession of 46 grammes of cannabis, which he had said was for his private use. Butts’s sentence was appealed and he was subsequently granted bail.
Last December, members of the Rastafarian community staged a demonstration outside the Attorney General’s office to protest against the “unjust laws” regarding the possession of marijuana, which they want decriminalized. They were subsequently invited to and held a meeting with AG Basil Williams, who had told them that the issue would be raised at Cabinet.
In January, Ramjattan had argued that the absence of a clear sentencing policy is a problem. When asked for his views on the calls, including by the Rastafarian community, for repeal of the law governing the possession of cannabis, Ramjattan had stated that all the laws, and especially the penalties, need to be reviewed.
A clear sentencing policy, he had further said, needed to be worked out by the Chancellor and other members of the judiciary. An example, he said, would be to limit the penalty to a one-year maximum sentence.
He added that public opprobrium over the issue was due to the absence of clear sentencing guidelines.
According to Ramjattan, magistrates and judges need to be conscious of public opinion and it is also important that the circumstances of a case be understood. He had said too that the entire debate was more of a sentencing matter than a need for the legislature to change the law.
