THE Bill intended to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control Act to prevent persons from being incarcerated if found with up to 30 grams of cannabis, is now with the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan. This is according to the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams.

Williams, on Friday, told the Guyana Chronicle that his Chambers has completed the review of the proposed legislation, and the Bill is now with the Minister of Public Security. It is expected that Minister Ramjattan would soon present the Bill to the National Assembly for its approval.

Amid distortion in the public domain on the intention of the Bill, the Attorney General clarified that it is not intended to decriminalise the use of marijuana but rather prevent persons from being jailed for having up to 30 grams of cannabis in their possession. The overall intention is to reduce the prison population, the Attorney General explained.
“The only thing we did was to remove the custodial sentences. It is still an offence; we have not decriminalised (it). It would still be unlawful to have 30 grams (of marijuana)…and if you are caught with it, you will be fined only, you wouldn’t be imprisoned,” Minister Williams explained. “The whole intention is to reduce the prison population,” the Attorney General emphasised.

Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, on Thursday, said the proposed amendment will allow for alternative sentencing. “It removes incarceration as a penalty. In the present system under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control Act, the magistrates do not have a discretion. Once you are found guilty, they have to sentence you and so this is why many of our prisons are piling up with young men who could have been doing something more beneficial to this society, but they are piled up in there because of this,” Harmon explained.

At the time, he was addressing reporters during a press conference at the Ministry of the Presidency. The Director-General said government is hopeful that the Bill can be placed before the National Assembly soon.

“So we are hoping to have this matter dealt with in the National Assembly as quickly as possible but in the interim, since it is clear what government’s position is on this matter, I believe that there is some ruling, a High Court ruling, which says, a magistrate can take notice of situations like this and so exercise that discretion even now before the law is put in place,” he said.

Harmon added: “I believe it is something which the Judiciary can, in fact, take notice of. We are not saying they have to do it, but we are saying they can take notice of it…”
In September 2018, the High Court freed Carl Mangal who was sentenced to prison for a period of three years by Principal Magistrate, Judy Latchman, in May that year.

A city magistrate had jailed him for allegedly having in his possession of 8.6 grams of marijuana. The penalty imposed upon the young man had caused outrage and recommitment from the Alliance For Change (AFC) – a partner within the Coalition Government, to have custodial sentences for small amounts of marijuana removed from the law books.

On Tuesday, Cabinet approved the proposal for the removal of custodial sentences for persons found with up to 30 grams of marijuana in their possession.

The decision to approve the proposal was arrived at after extensive discussions and reviews, the Ministry of the Presidency said, while noting that while possession remains an offence, persons will not be sentenced to terms of imprisonment as obtained in the past.
“This is the first of several steps that government intends to take as it considers the recently submitted Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Report on the usages of marijuana, and in particular, usages by our Rastafarian brothers and sisters who require it for use in their worship and sacrament,” the Ministry of the Presidency said.

Over the years, several persons have been placed behind bars for having small amounts of marijuana in their possession, as was in the case of Mangal. Imprisonment of persons found with small amounts of cannabis, is among contributing factors to the overcrowding of the country’s prisons. Once found in possession of more than five grams of cannabis, a person can be sentenced to three years in jail, the current law states.

AFC Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington, in 2015 had tabled a bill in the National Assembly to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control Act but it was never debated. The new Bill, currently with the Ministry of Public Security, is likely to replace the Bill tabled by Carrington.

According to the proposed bill seen by the Guyana Chronicle, Section Four (A) (i) and Section Four (B) (ii) of the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Control Act 1988 are being amended to remove the requirements for imprisonment for anyone found in possession of cannabis. Section Five (2) (e), which addresses the issue of quantity, is being amended to increase the quantity of cannabis that attracts jail time.

In the Explanatory Memorandum signed by MP Carrington, it was explained that the bill is in direct response to the experience faced by many young Guyanese who have been incarcerated for small quantities of cannabis resin.

“This experience has further revealed that many of the young persons who have been remanded and incarcerated as a result of being charged with offences which involved relatively small quantities of cannabis or cannabis resin, have been exposed to persons who have been accused of and have been involved in much more serious violent offences. The social intercourse afforded by the incarceration has resulted in regrettable contamination and education of many young persons in criminal behavior and anti-social tendencies,” MP Carrington explained.

He noted that as a result of the current statutory provision, persons found with 15 or more grams of marijuana for personal or medical use, have been jailed for three or more years. “The proposed amendments will remove the mandatory imprisonment of persons who have been accused of having in their possession relatively small amounts of cannabis and cannabis resin. The amendment will also increase the quantity which will constitute a trafficking in cannabis or cannabis resin to one thousand grams,” the Member of Parliament noted.