– Harmon comments on ganja sentencing debate
IN the aftermath of a 27-year-old father being imprisoned for three years after he was found with eight grams of marijuana, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that government’s position is that the law must prevail.
Harmon on Thursday, during his post-cabinet press briefing, said the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances Act of 1988 signed into law by former President Desmond Hoyte, does not provide a magistrate with discretion when dealing with certain amounts of marijuana possession which can be considered trafficking.
He said that if someone is found with a small amount of marijuana which can be considered for personal use, only then does the magistrate have a discretion which can attract community service.
Noting that the law reeks some amount of hardship if a person is found with marijuana which is slightly above the limit of possession, Harmon said the magistrates can only apply the law. He said that if the law needs to be amended or changed, that would be a responsibility of the legislative branch.
“I believe that there is a motion in the National Assembly not really for decriminalization of marijuana, but for allowing magistrates greater discretion in sentencing…decriminalisation will require a larger consultation of the population. Once that is done, the government will take a position on the matter,” Harmon said.
The sentencing of the man had outraged sections of society and even the Alliance For Change called for swift action to remove custodial sentencing for persons found with small amounts of ganja. The case has also revived calls for reforming of the laws prohibiting the use of ganja here
AFC Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington had said that since 2015, a bill was tabled in the National Assembly for debate, but it has since been languishing on the order paper, being deferred time and time again. “The time to act is now. We must no longer sit idly by and allow our young men and women to be sentenced to several years of jail time alongside hardened criminals, murderers and rapists.
“We will not be found complicit in destroying the lives of our young people and wounding our society rather than acting to heal it,” the AFC said. The party also announced that it will commence plans to host, in the near future, a national symposium on the issue at which all stakeholders and sectors of society will be invited to deliberate and exchange views.
