THE Rastafari Core Group of Guyana in a press statement issued on Friday is appealing to President David Granger to fully accept the recommendations from CARICOM regarding marijuana as an indication of respect and goodwill for the regional bloc.
“The Core Group has taken the opportunity to welcome the report on marijuana submitted by the CARICOM Marijuana Commission to the last Heads of Government meeting held in Jamaica,” the release stated.

Speaking on the issue at the recent meeting with CARICOM in Jamaica, President David Granger stated, “I think that is a little premature in the context of Guyana, and we have vast landscape in comparison with some of the Caribbean island states. We have challenges for enforcement and challenges for control of that land space, and it will be very difficult for Guyana to embark on that course at the present time. So we are moving towards the removal of the custodial sentences, we are not moving towards the encouragement of the use of marijuana.”

When asked about whether the recommendations should be implemented, Chairman of Rastafari Core Group Ras Khafra stated, “I can’t speak for the government, but I personally see no reason why we should not move forward with the recommendation.”
The Rastafari Core Group calls on President Granger to act by: implementing the full recommendations, especially those related to the decriminalisation of marijuana; and by meeting the Rastafari community “to further hear our concerns and achieve consensus.”