It has been over 17 months since the government sent a bill to amend the narcotics laws for the removal of custodial sentences for the possession of less than 30 grammes of cannabis to a special parliamentary committee for further consultation.
With its members continuing to be arrested in the intervening period, the Guyana Rastafarian Council remains concern at the pace of the work to make the proposed amendment to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act a reality.
Parliament is due to go into recess in the second week in August.
The bill was tabled after the government voted down an opposition’s motion setting the no-jail amount at 500 grammes. That was debated in the National Assembly on January 28, 2021, where Nandlall tabled the amendment to the Act.
The bill proposes that the possession of a quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which does not exceed 15 grammes would be punishable by mandatory counselling for a period to be determined by the counsellor. It also proposes that the possession of any quantity of cannabis or any substance held out to be cannabis which exceeds 15 grammes but does not exceed 30 grammes would be punishable by community service for a period not exceeding six months.
After tabling the bill, Nandlall asked that it be transmitted to a Special Select Committee for further consultation. The Special Select Committee has since invited submissions from the public and has so far received contributions from a broad-based section of society.
When contacted, Attorney General Anil Nandlall told Sunday Stabroek that the Committee needs one more meeting before the bill is finalised to be taken back to the House. He noted that they are trying to finalise that before Parliament goes into recess but could not give a commitment to the date.
“It’s one issue. That is, what is the quantum that will be agreed upon that will not carry imprisonment. That’s the only outstanding issue… a lot of people believe that the bill speaks to decriminalisation, but it’s not that. The bill we’re doing really it’s not to decriminalise but the removal of the custodial sentence from small amounts of marijuana and the Committee [is] to decide what that small amount is [and] we are trying to be consistent with the rest of the Caribbean.
“I cannot say [when the Committee will meet] but ideally I would like it to be before the House goes into recess. As you know we will have one more sitting on August 8 and then the Parliament would go into recess so I am hoping we can have this laid on the 8th but again I cannot commit to that,” Nandlall explained.
Nandlall said that the Committee has received a number of submissions from various bodies, including religious ones, and the Committee would have to go through them to determine how to proceed.
Concerned
During an interview with Sunday Stabroek yesterday, General Secretary of the Guyana Rastafarian Council Ras Khafra Messdjehuty related that not only is the Council concerned but the entire community about the delay in reforming the law.
“I can say it is not only the Rastafarian Council that is concerned at the pace which this bill is being looked at. After the government published the notices and invited submissions, we had a gathering with the different representative groups within the Rastafarian community and we came up with a presentation. That presentation was submitted within the deadline. We have seen no movement to finalise things, so yes we are concerned,” he related.
Ras Khafra said that they had a Zoom engagement with Nandlall about two months ago and it was related that 15 submissions were received at the end of the deadline. However, he related that they were informed that the majority of the submissions dealt with decriminalisation of marijuana whereas the bill focused on the removal of custodial sentences.
He added that they were informed by the AG that the deadline was extended to facilitate submissions in regard to the quantity that would attract the removal of custodial sentences.
“So he had a concern with that and he was trying to mobilise this group [and others] to maybe try and put out a different view or a different opinion and that was the last thing we heard concerning it. I know that they’re doing things behind the scenes, but because maybe it’s not being done the way they want it to, they’re delaying it.
“…and that is of concern because the longer they take more persons are being affected by it. Even the other day one of our members got arrested for some cannabis so we’re definitely concerned about the delay. One of the opinions [we have] is that you’re trying to take it closer to the election. Today [Saturday] is the birth anniversary of His Imperial Majesty and that is one of the things up for discussion when the community meets. We probably going to discuss some more action in that regard,” he explained.
Submissions
In its submissions to the Committee, the Rastafarian Council argued that “the world has moved away from the punitive prohibitive approach which this Bill is seeking to uphold and reinforce. The punitive prohibitive approach has rightly been rejected and condemned as ineffective, discriminatory, deeply unjust and causing more harm than good. A small fine would’ve been better than mandatory counselling and community service. For example, if someone is caught with 1 gram of cannabis on a Friday, that person will be arrested and detained in jail, according to article 82, until Monday when s/he would face a magistrate to be sentenced to counselling, therefore, making the Bill even short of being non-custodial.
“Alternatively, a ticket for a fine could’ve been issued to be paid by the individual within 30 days similar to Jamaica, thus allowing that individual to go home to their family. Moreover, to institute a fine of G$250,000 for failing to adhere to the terms of the penalty is even more draconian and merciless than the Principal Act which stipulates no less than G$10,000 and no more than G$20,000 given the fact that it will be the poor and marginalized who will continue to be targeted and harassed by the police.”
The Council further submitted that the sentence of mandatory counselling, unless it’s a child, would present an ethical dilemma for a counsellor asked to counsel someone who is of the firm conviction that using cannabis enhances their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing as supported by the WHO and majority of the countries and peoples around the world.
Additionally, the Council told the Committee that in moving away from the punitive prohibitive approach, if the government is unwilling to make a “complete and immediate removal of all prohibitive legal provisions” then a minimum preparatory step should be “decriminalization for personal use in private premises and for medical purposes” in keeping with precedents from across the world.
“…religious rights of Rastafari must be recognized and upheld as recommended by the commission and has been done by all the other CARICOM countries that have amended their Narcotic laws. The commission notes two important Caribbean legal cases to support its position, Francis v AG of Antigua and Barbuda and Forsythe v DPP and the AG of Jamaica where it states that ‘The recognition of Rastafarianism as a religion in Francis paves the way for a stronger case on human rights to be made and also provides the basis for law reform to make special provision for Rastafarian religious practitioners.’ Moreover, the reasoning in Forsythe similarly relied on the element of a public health justification to uphold prohibitive laws on cannabis. However, the decisions in both cases, in light of the scientific and medical evidence about cannabis properties today, is now suspect. It is unlikely that if argued today, in light of the considerable medical advancements, that these public health rationales would be on firm ground to deny human rights, particularly since a high threshold is required to deny constitutional rights,” the Council submitted.
A Regional Commission on Marijuana, established by CARICOM Heads of Government, had recommended in 2018 that states reclassify cannabis as a “controlled substance” instead of as a “dangerous drug” or narcotic.
“The analysis of the comprehensive information gathered indicates that the current legal regime for cannabis/marijuana, characterised as it is by prohibition and draconian criminal penalties, is ineffective, incongruous, obsolete and deeply unjust. After considering the most up to date evidence and the views of Caribbean peoples, the Commission is unanimous in its view that the status quo with respect to the legal regime governing cannabis/marijuana cannot be maintained and legal reform should be a priority for Member States,’” the Commission declared in its report.
The report, seen by Sunday Stabroek, also noted that CARICOM states should have a margin of appreciation as to how to achieve this ultimate goal, either by complete and immediate removal of all prohibitive legal provisions, thereby rendering cannabis/marijuana a legal substance regulated only in strictly defined circumstances, or, as a preparatory step, the decriminalisation of cannabis/marijuana for personal use in private premises and medical purposes.
However, while it said the end-goals for CARICOM should be the removal of the prohibitionist regime that has proven to be ineffective, unjust and caused more harm than it sought to prevent, it added that “does not believe that total legalisation in a fully liberalised regime is a plausible option at this juncture for CARICOM.”
The Commission’s report, which was compiled after region-wide consultations, was presented to the CARICOM Heads of Government in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in July, 2018, for consideration. At the conclusion of the conference, CARICOM Chairman and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness reported that the regional heads agreed that action is necessary at the national level by the relevant authorities to review the relevant status of marijuana as a schedule one drug with a view to reclassification.
