Dear Editor,
The Office of the Minister of State at this time calls on Stabroek News to either retract or apologise for its Monday, April 24, 2017 headline titled `Easing ganja penalties not on priority list – Harmon’. The Office of the Minister of State wishes to clarify that Minister of State Joseph Harmon, did not, at any point in responding to a question about the possible growing of hemp here, during a Town Hall Meeting at the West Demerara Primary School on Sunday 23rd April 2017, make reference to, or use the word ‘ganja’ as is implied in the Stabroek News headline.
Instead, the Minister of State clearly stated (in responding to the resident’s question) that in order for there to be the facilitation of the growing of Industrial Hemp in Guyana, there would have to be a changing of the law since hemp is considered a narcotic drug. The Minister of State added that changing the law to facilitate that, is not at this time a priority for the Government of Guyana.
It is also noted that the word ‘hemp’ was intentionally excluded from the body of the article belonging to the same headline mentioned above that reported on Minister’s Harmon sentiments on the matter. The Office of the Minister of State therefore condemns what seems to be Stabroek News’ attempt to sensationalise and bring controversy to what should be a very serious matter, and calls on Stabroek News and all media houses to practice responsible journalism.
Yours faithfully,
Malika N. Ramsey
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of State
Editor’s note: Stabroek News regrets the error and apologises to the minister for any inconvenience caused. The audio on the recording used for the report was not of very good quality. There was no intention to deliberately exclude the word hemp.
