The PPP/C government is proposing to remove custodial sentences for possession of up to 30 grammes of cannabis.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC yesterday released the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2021 which will appear at today’s sitting of the National Assembly.
The amendments had been promised by the previous government but were not delivered.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum of the bill, under the new subsection (2A) the possession of a quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which does not exceed fifteen grams is punishable by mandatory counselling for a period to be determined by the counsellor. Under (2B) the possession of any quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which exceeds fifteen grams but does not exceed thirty grams is punishable by community service which includes employment in a public work under the Extra-Mural Work Act, Cap. 11:02, for a period not exceeding six months.
This Bill says the amendments are intended to reduce recidivism, prison overcrowdings and the burden on the criminal justice system, save State funds, and ultimately rebuild lives, families and communities affected and disadvantaged by the fining and incarceration of persons, especially youths, for possession and use of small amounts of cannabis.
Clause five seeks to amends section 5(2)(e) to increase the quantity of cannabis, in relation to the burden of proof being placed on a person to prove that the person is not in possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking, from more than fifteen grams to more than thirty grams.
Clause six seems to amends section 12 to remove the fine and term of imprisonment for the smoking, inhaling, sniffing, or otherwise using cannabis, being found in a place used for that purpose, or being the owner, occupier, or concerned in the management of any place used for preparation of cannabis for that purpose. The amendment also seeks to remove the penalty for the possession of any pipe or other utensil used in connection with the smoking, inhaling or sniffing or otherwise using of cannabis.
These offences are now punishable by community service for a period not exceeding six months. In addition, the offence of handling any package, container or other thing which contains a quantity of cannabis not exceeding fifteen grammes, is now punishable by mandatory counselling for a period determined by the counsellor. Where the package, container or thing has a quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which exceeds fifteen grams but does not exceed thirty grams the offence will now be punishable by community service which includes a public work under the Extra-Mural Work Act, Cap. 11:02, for a period not exceeding six months in relation to cannabis and a period not exceeding three months in respect of the substance.
Further, while the clause seeks to expunge the fine and term of imprisonment for smoking cannabis, it also prohibits the smoking of cannabis in certain places in line with the prohibition of smoking in public places provided for under section 16 of the Tobacco Control Act, No. 17 of 2017, and is punishable by the same fines found in that Act in addition to the penalty herein.
Clause Seven seeks to amend section 72 in relation to the discretion of the court to order a person convicted of an offence under section 4, who is an addict and in possession of cannabis for personal consumption, to undergo rehabilitation where the court thinks fit, of the period of the community service.
Clause eight also seeks to amend section 73 in relation to the limitation on the power of the court to impose a lesser sentence to remove the special reason for the discretion of the court to reduce the term of imprisonment for the possession of five grams for personal consumption as the provision is no longer necessary. The clause also seeks to substitute subsection (5) to provide for the court to make an order for mandatory counselling for a period within the period the person is performing community service where no order for care, treatment and rehabilitation of person addicted to a narcotic is made under section 72.
The bill also inserts new subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9). Subsections (6) and (7) prescribe the hours and instances for the undergoing of mandatory counselling and the performance of community service. Subsections (8) and (9) cater for instances in which the offender does not consent to an order for mandatory counselling and community service to be granted and where the requirements of an order to undergo mandatory counselling or perform community service is breached by the offender to give the court the discretion to order the offender to pay a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, where the court sees fit.
While it failed over its five-year term in office to decriminalise small amounts of marijuana, opposition APNU+AFC MPs last December pledged to push forward with an amendment bill in the 12th parliament.
They said that the inactivity of the National Assembly in 2019 due to the passage of the no confidence motion on December 21, 2018 prevented MPs from the Alliance for Change (AFC) segment of the governing coalition from being able to successfully pilot the amendment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Bill, a bill aimed at easing penalties on possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Their bill submitted to parliament is also intended to repeal custodial sentences for possession of 30 grammes and under of cannabis.
This would mean that there would likely be overwhelming support in Parliament for the amendments.
Former AFC parliamentarian Michael Carrington in December 2015, had tabled the initial amendments which had been left to languish in legislative purgatory.
