President David Granger, pursuant to Articles 188, 189 and 190 of the Constitution of Guyana, granted full and free Presidential pardon to four men who are currently serving sentences in the Guyana prisons for charges related to the possession of marijuana.

The Presidential pardon takes effect from August 1, 2019. Pardoned are Mr. Robert Bhagnauth, who is serving a three-year sentence in the Mazaruni Prison for the offence of Possession of Cannabis; Mr. Michael Gouveia, who is serving a three-year sentence at the Timehri Prison for the offence of Possession of Cannabis; Mr. Andy Roberts, who is serving a sentence of two years at the Lusignan Prison for the offence of Smoked Cannabis and Mr. Joseph Yaw, who is serving a sentence of two years and ten months in the Georgetown Prison ‘B’ for the Possession of Cannabis. The conditions outlined in the Constitution of Guyana were met.

The President pardoning of the men comes weeks after government announced its intention to remove mandatory custodial sentence for possession of small amounts of Marijuana. In early July, Cabinet approved a proposal for the removal of custodial sentences for persons found with up to 30 grammes of marijuana in their possession, in keeping with a commitment made by President David Granger. The quantity, which constitutes a trafficking in cannabis offence, has been increased to one thousand grammes in the proposal – a move which the Rastafarian Community is pleased with.

According to the Ministry of the Presidency, the decision to approve the proposal was arrived at after extensive discussions and reviews. It stated 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– a move which has been frowned upon, given 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. Now that Cabinet has granted its approval, it is likely that Government will fast track its efforts at amending the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control Act, in the National Assembly, to remove custodial sentences for possession of up to 30 grammes of marijuana.

In an invited comment, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had said the decision by the government had its genesis in the overcrowded prison the coalition Government inherited and its subsequent efforts to reduce it. He noted that this issue became starker following the 2017 Prison riot. He said President David Granger had appointed him to lead a delegation which included Attorney General, Basil Williams and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan to meet with the then Chancellor, Carl Singh to explore ways of addressing the prison overcrowding.

Mr. Nagamootoo stated that during their discussions, it became known that many of the young people who were incarcerated were caught with small amounts of Marijuana, but, because of the law, mandatory custodial sentence was imposed on them. “It was under those circumstances our administration sought to find a way to deal with this issue and we felt that a first step would be to remove custodial sentences for 30 grammes or less of marijuana.”

Alliance for Change (AFC) Member of Parliament, Michael Carrington, since 2015, had tabled a bill in the National Assembly for debate but it has been languishing on the order paper, being deferred time and time again.

In a letter to the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on May 28, 2019, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, said Cabinet had approved the draft Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015. However, as is customary, Trotman asked the Attorney-General to review the amendments. In that letter, Trotman disclosed that the draft Amendments were presented to Cabinet Meeting in Linden on April 30, 2019. According to the proposed bill seen by Guyana Chronicle, Section 4 (A) (i) and Section 4 (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 5 (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 grammes 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 grammes” the Member of Parliament noted.