…insists Rastafarian community; wants further consultation on ganja bill

THE Government intends to table a Bill at the next Sitting of the National Assembly to remove mandatory jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana but the Rastafarian community wants to be consulted first before the bill goes to the House.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan said the Bill is intended to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, which currently has in place stiff penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis. The Alliance for Change (AFC) – a major partner in the coalition Government, and the Rastafarian community are among groups that have called for the Act to be amended.

Minister Ramjattan explained that the Bill is not intended to decriminalise the possession of marijuana but rather “to end custodial penalties for small amounts.”

In 2015, the local Rastafarian organisations engaged Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams on marijuana laws and human rights violations. That year, Government Member of Parliament Michael Carrington tabled a bill in the National Assembly for debate, but it has since been languishing on the Order Paper, being deferred time and time again. Minister Ramjattan, however, said it needed to be refined.

That Bill had aimed to remove the mandatory imprisonment of persons accused of having a relatively small amount of marijuana. Additionally, it was intended to increase the quantity constituted as trafficking in cannabis and cannabis resin to 1,000 grams, and permit the use of 200 grams of cannabis and cannabis resin.

But Rastafarian organisations were not entirely pleased with the Bill, and made several recommendations, which included households being allowed to grow a maximum of seven marijuana plants, and Rastafarian organisations no more than five acres for sacramental purposes.

In a recent interview with Guyana Chronicle, a number of leaders in the Rastafarian community said they do not know which or how many of their recommendations were included in the ‘refined’ Bill.

At this stage, they are hoping that the government consults further with the Rastafarian community before the Bill is presented to the National Assembly. According to them, Leader of the AFC, and Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman was fine-tuning the Bill.
“We are hoping that Mr Trotman will make contact with the community and seek to have our input into this Bill,” Chairman of the Rastafari Core Group and General Secretary of the Guyana Rastafari Council, Ras Khafra Mesesdjehuti said.

He said apart from this, the community would seek to “further agitate” to have their voices heard as they have in the past.

“What we have been championing over the years is more than what they have drafted in terms of the Bill. Our concern is specifically our religious and cultural rights as a Rastafarian community and the Bill hasn’t spoken to that,” Ras Mesesdjehuti said.
“Even though I appreciate the fact that something will be done, I can’t say that I wholeheartedly embrace the Bill,” he added.

The Guyana Rastafarian Council made the matter a national issue in 2015 when it told the media of their concerns and urged President Granger (Opposition Leader at the time) to address their issues.

Following the report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana, President David Granger indicated that amendments will be made to the Act to allow for the removal of jail time for the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

President of the Guyana Rastafari Council of Guyana Ras Simeon explained that marijuana or the “holy herb” is believed by the Rastafarian community to be for the “spiritual growth of mankind” and as an incense which “goes up with praise.”

“Its use is to vanquish evil forces that you can have a union with self and the Almighty,” he stated, adding: “It is most needed in our world to practice our culture outwardly and in the sacred place. We stress the need to freely use our holy herb as a religious sacrament and to have that right like all other religious groups as is enshrined within the Constitution of Guyana: freedom of worship.”

Questioned on what the Rastafarian community expects of the government regarding the limits of the use of the plant, Ras Mesesdjehuti said that they are willing to have the government adopt the Jamaican model.

Jamaica’s amended cannabis laws state that the possession of up to 2 ounces (56.6 grams) is a petty offence and will not result in a criminal record but a fine.

It also allows for the cultivation of five or fewer plants per household while Rastafari adults are permitted to use marijuana for sacramental purposes.

Ras Mesesdjehuti did note a difference in their 2015 recommendations to the Bill and Jamaica’s model in stating that 200 grams or about 7ounces was included as the limit.

PERSECUTION
Speaking of the many ways in which Rastafarians have been affected by the country’s “draconian” sentences for possession of the plant, Ras Mesesdjehuti pointed out that the council’s past Treasurer Ras Kent was sent to prison for three years for possession of a small amount of marijuana.

He said too that the council’s former President Ras Leon Saul’s house was raided by the police.
“When they see ‘rasta’ they see marijuana, and they see an opportunity to get money; for males and females but females would have more harrowing experiences,” Ras Mesesdjehuti said.

He said the secretary of the Reparation’s Committee, Esther (only name given) was imprisoned and separated from her children for some time – suffering emotionally, academically and financially as a result.

Ras Simeon added: “Recently I was arrested. I was coming over the bridge and they had a roadblock and I had a little draw of weed and the police stopped the vehicle and; took the weed; carried me to the police station and you know the rest.”
They said such “religious persecution” can sometimes even work to deter Rastafarians from their faith.

HIGH STIGMA
“Most Africans who have been educated by the colonial powers they lack knowledge of the black history and tradition. So, I feel, seeing ‘rasta’ practicing his culture outwardly would restore this glory to the African community in practice also,” Ras Simeon opined.

He added that countries and states all across the world are now moving to decriminalise marijuana because they have come to realise the medicinal value of the plant as has been highlighted by the Rastafarian community for years.

Meanwhile, Ras Mesesdjehuti said that health concerns raised in regards to marijuana use are misguided.

They also want to see reparation in the form of specific projects funded by the government and geared at uplifting of the Rastafarian community affected by forms of discrimination and prosecution over the years.

“This government has a moral obligation to do something for us, particularly,” he said.
At the last census in 2012, there were approximately 4,000-5,000 Rastafarians in Guyana but the true number is estimated to be higher.