Finally the Jamaican Government is using their common sense. In April of this year, marijuana farmers will be able to apply for lies to legally plant marijuana without being harassed or arrested by law enforcement.
The Jamaican Government which is pretty much puppets of the United States had kept marijuana illegal even for the Rastafarians who see the herb as a holy sacrament. So with pressure from the U.S. Jamaica has failed to capitalize from the green economy even as states like Colorado and Washington boasted of the millions they made in tax revenues from legal marijuana sales.
Last year the Jamaican Government issued a license to the University of the West Indies to cultivate marijuana. Starting in April, any Jamaican citizen will be able to apply for a license to become a marijuana farmer.
Former UN secretary general
calls for legalization of
cannabis
1 hour ago
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
EMAIL
– Kofi Annan has called for the
legalization of cannabis
– The former UN Secretary
General advises that regulations should
be put in place once the legalization is
effected
– He also sites countries like the US
that have legalized its use
Former UN boss, Kofi Annan
Former UN boss, Kofi Annana has also
added his voice to the call for cannabis
and other related drugs to be legalized
with governmental regulations.
According to him, the legalization would
curtail its abuse and governing the
legalization with regulations is to caution on
its excessive use. He noted that it is ricky
to leave drugs in the hands of criminals
who have no idea about its health and
safety concerns.
In an article first published in Der Spiegel
International , Kofi Annan further went on
to state that the regulations would further
help to protect the health of individuals and
would educate consumers on the health
risks associated with the drug and how to
minimize them. Kofi Annan added that once
cannabis is legalise, there is the need for
Governments to be able to regulate vendors
and outlets according to how much harm a
drug can cause.
He noted that in legalization, the most
risky drugs should never be available for
sale as ‘over the counter’ drugs but only
via medical prescription for people
registered as dependent users, as pertained
happening in Switzerland.
The legal sale of cannabis is a reality that
started with California legalizing the sale of
cannabis for medical use in 1996. Since
then, 22 US states and some European
countries have followed suit. Canada looks
likely to become the first G7 country to
regulate the sale of cannabis next year.
Kofi Annan’s call adds him to the list of
musicians like Blakk Rasta and Dada KD who
have also called for its legalization
Below is the full piece of the article
which was first published in Der Spiegel
International:
Drugs are dangerous, but current narcotics
policies are an even bigger threat because
punishment is given a greater priority than
health and human rights. It’s time for
regulations that put lives and safety first,
argues former UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
In my experience, good public policy is best
shaped by the dispassionate analysis of
what in practice has worked, or not. Policy
based on common assumptions and popular
sentiments can become a recipe for
mistaken prescriptions and misguided
interventions.
Nowhere is this divorce between rhetoric
and reality more evident than in the
formulation of global drug policies, where
too often emotions and ideology rather
than evidence have prevailed.
Take the case of the medical use of
cannabis. By looking carefully at the
evidence from the United States, we now
know that legalizing the use of cannabis for
medical purposes has not, as opponents
argued, led to an increase in its use by
teenagers. By contrast, there has been a
near tripling of American deaths from
heroin overdoses between 2010 and 2013,
even though the law and its severe
punishments remain unchanged.
READ ALSO:NDC man arrested for
impersonation
This year, between April 19 and 21, the
United Nations General Assembly will hold a
special session on drugs and the world will
have a chance to change course. As we
approach that event, we need to ask
ourselves if we are on the right policy path.
More specifically, how do we deal with what
the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime has called the “unintended
consequences” of the policies of the last 50
years, which have helped, among other
things, to create a vast, international
criminal market in drugs that fuels violence,
corruption and instability? Just think of the
16,000 murders in Mexico in 2013, many of
which are directly linked to drug
trafficking.
A War on People Globally, the “war on
drugs” has not succeeded. Some estimate
that enforcing global prohibition costs at
least $100 billion (€90.7 billion) a year, but
as many as 300 million people now use
drugs worldwide, contributing to a global
illicit market with a turnover of $330
billion a year, one of the largest commodity
markets in the world.
Prohibition has had little impact on the
supply of or demand for drugs. When law
enforcement succeeds in one area, drug
production simply moves to another region
or country, drug trafficking moves to
another route and drug users switch to a
different drug. Nor has prohibition
significantly reduced use. Studies have
consistently failed to establish the existence
of a link between the harshness of a
country’s drug laws and its levels of drug
use. The widespread criminalization and
punishment of people who use drugs, the
over-crowded prisons, mean that the war
on drugs is, to a significant degree, a war
on drug users — a war on people.
Africa is sadly an example of these
problems. The West Africa Commission on
Drugs, which my foundationconvened,
reported last year that the region has now
become not only a major transit point
between producers in Latin America and
consumers in Europe, but an area where
consumption is increasing. Drug money,
and the criminality associated with it, is
fostering corruption and violence. The
stability of countries and the region as a
whole is under threat.
I believe that drugs have destroyed many
lives, but wrong government policies have
destroyed many more. We all want to
protect our families from the potential
harm of drugs. But if our children do
develop a drug problem, surely we will
want them cared for as patients in need of
treatment and not branded as criminals.
Stop Stigmatizing and Start Helping The
tendency in many parts of the world to
stigmatize and incarcerate drug users has
prevented many from seeking medical
treatment. In what other areas of public
health do we criminalize patients in need of
help? Punitive measures have sent many
people to prison, where their drug use has
worsened. A criminal record for a young
person for a minor drug offence can be a
far greater threat to their well-being than
occasional drug use.
The original intent of drug policy, according
to the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs,
was to protect the “health and welfare of
mankind.” We need to refocus international
and national policy on this key objective.
This requires us to take four critical steps.
First, we must decriminalize personal drug
use. The use of drugs is harmful and
reducing those harms is a task for the
public health system, not the courts. This
must be coupled with the strengthening of
treatment services, especially in middle and
low-income countries.
Second, we need to accept that a drug-free
world is an illusion. We must focus instead
on ensuring that drugs cause the least
possible harm. Harm reduction measures,
such as needle exchange programs, can
make a real difference. Germany adopted
such measures early on and the level of HIV
infections among injecting drug users is
close to 5 percent, compared to over 40
percent in some countries which resist this
pragmatic approach.
READ ALSO: Ghana signs €31.6m
employment programme agreement
Third, we have to look at regulation and
public education rather than the total
suppression of drugs, which we know will
not work. The steps taken successfully to
reduce tobacco consumption (a very
powerful and damaging addiction) show
what can be achieved. It is regulation and
education, not the threat of prison, which
has cut the number of smokers in many
countries. Higher taxes, restrictions on sale
and effective anti-smoking campaigns have
delivered the right results.
The legal sale of cannabis is a reality that
started with California legalizing the sale of
cannabis for medical use in 1996. Since
then, 22 US states and some European
countries have followed suit. Others have
gone further still. A voter initiative which
gained a majority at the ballot box has
caused Colorado to legalize the sale of
cannabis for recreational use. Last year,
Colorado collected around $135 million in
taxes and license fees related to legal
cannabis sales. Others have taken less
commercial routes. Users of Spain’s
cannabis social clubs can grow and buy
cannabis through small non-commercial
organizations. And Canada looks likely to
become the first G7 country to regulate the
sale of cannabis next year.
Legal Regulation Protects Health
Initial trends show us that where cannabis
has been legalized, there has been no
explosion in drug use or drug-related
crime. The size of the black market has
been reduced and thousands of young
people have been spared criminal records.
But a regulated market is not a free market.
We need to carefully think through what
needs regulating, and what does not. While
most cannabis use is occasional, moderate
and not associated with significant
problems, it is nonetheless precisely
because of its potential risks that it needs
to be regulated.
And therefore, the fourth and final step is
to recognize that drugs must be regulated
precisely because they are risky. It is time
to acknowledge that drugs are infinitely
more dangerous if they are left solely in the
hands of criminals who have no concerns
about health and safety. Legal regulation
protects health. Consumers need to be
aware of what they are taking and have
clear information on health risks and how
to minimize them. Governments need to be
able to regulate vendors and outlets
according to how much harm a drug can
cause. The most rFormer UN secretary general
calls for legalization of
cannabis
1 hour ago
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
EMAIL
– Kofi Annan has called for the
legalization of cannabis
– The former UN Secretary
General advises that regulations should
be put in place once the legalization is
effected
– He also sites countries like the US
that have legalized its use
Former UN boss, Kofi Annan
Former UN boss, Kofi Annana has also
added his voice to the call for cannabis
and other related drugs to be legalized
with governmental regulations.
According to him, the legalization would
curtail its abuse and governing the
legalization with regulations is to caution on
its excessive use. He noted that it is ricky
to leave drugs in the hands of criminals
who have no idea about its health and
safety concerns.
In an article first published in Der Spiegel
International , Kofi Annan further went on
to state that the regulations would further
help to protect the health of individuals and
would educate consumers on the health
risks associated with the drug and how to
minimize them. Kofi Annan added that once
cannabis is legalise, there is the need for
Governments to be able to regulate vendors
and outlets according to how much harm a
drug can cause.
He noted that in legalization, the most
risky drugs should never be available for
sale as ‘over the counter’ drugs but only
via medical prescription for people
registered as dependent users, as pertained
happening in Switzerland.
The legal sale of cannabis is a reality that
started with California legalizing the sale of
cannabis for medical use in 1996. Since
then, 22 US states and some European
countries have followed suit. Canada looks
likely to become the first G7 country to
regulate the sale of cannabis next year.
Kofi Annan’s call adds him to the list of
musicians like Blakk Rasta and Dada KD who
have also called for its legalization
Below is the full piece of the article
which was first published in Der Spiegel
International:
Drugs are dangerous, but current narcotics
policies are an even bigger threat because
punishment is given a greater priority than
health and human rights. It’s time for
regulations that put lives and safety first,
argues former UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
In my experience, good public policy is best
shaped by the dispassionate analysis of
what in practice has worked, or not. Policy
based on common assumptions and popular
sentiments can become a recipe for
mistaken prescriptions and misguided
interventions.
Nowhere is this divorce between rhetoric
and reality more evident than in the
formulation of global drug policies, where
too often emotions and ideology rather
than evidence have prevailed.
Take the case of the medical use of
cannabis. By looking carefully at the
evidence from the United States, we now
know that legalizing the use of cannabis for
medical purposes has not, as opponents
argued, led to an increase in its use by
teenagers. By contrast, there has been a
near tripling of American deaths from
heroin overdoses between 2010 and 2013,
even though the law and its severe
punishments remain unchanged.
READ ALSO:NDC man arrested for
impersonation
This year, between April 19 and 21, the
United Nations General Assembly will hold a
special session on drugs and the world will
have a chance to change course. As we
approach that event, we need to ask
ourselves if we are on the right policy path.
More specifically, how do we deal with what
the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime has called the “unintended
consequences” of the policies of the last 50
years, which have helped, among other
things, to create a vast, international
criminal market in drugs that fuels violence,
corruption and instability? Just think of the
16,000 murders in Mexico in 2013, many of
which are directly linked to drug
trafficking.
A War on People Globally, the “war on
drugs” has not succeeded. Some estimate
that enforcing global prohibition costs at
least $100 billion (€90.7 billion) a year, but
as many as 300 million people now use
drugs worldwide, contributing to a global
illicit market with a turnover of $330
billion a year, one of the largest commodity
markets in the world.
Prohibition has had little impact on the
supply of or demand for drugs. When law
enforcement succeeds in one area, drug
production simply moves to another region
or country, drug trafficking moves to
another route and drug users switch to a
different drug. Nor has prohibition
significantly reduced use. Studies have
consistently failed to establish the existence
of a link between the harshness of a
country’s drug laws and its levels of drug
use. The widespread criminalization and
punishment of people who use drugs, the
over-crowded prisons, mean that the war
on drugs is, to a significant degree, a war
on drug users — a war on people.
Africa is sadly an example of these
problems. The West Africa Commission on
Drugs, which my foundationconvened,
reported last year that the region has now
become not only a major transit point
between producers in Latin America and
consumers in Europe, but an area where
consumption is increasing. Drug money,
and the criminality associated with it, is
fostering corruption and violence. The
stability of countries and the region as a
whole is under threat.
I believe that drugs have destroyed many
lives, but wrong government policies have
destroyed many more. We all want to
protect our families from the potential
harm of drugs. But if our children do
develop a drug problem, surely we will
want them cared for as patients in need of
treatment and not branded as criminals.
Stop Stigmatizing and Start Helping The
tendency in many parts of the world to
stigmatize and incarcerate drug users has
prevented many from seeking medical
treatment. In what other areas of public
health do we criminalize patients in need of
help? Punitive measures have sent many
people to prison, where their drug use has
worsened. A criminal record for a young
person for a minor drug offence can be a
far greater threat to their well-being than
occasional drug use.
The original intent of drug policy, according
to the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs,
was to protect the “health and welfare of
mankind.” We need to refocus international
and national policy on this key objective.
This requires us to take four critical steps.
First, we must decriminalize personal drug
use. The use of drugs is harmful and
reducing those harms is a task for the
public health system, not the courts. This
must be coupled with the strengthening of
treatment services, especially in middle and
low-income countries.
Second, we need to accept that a drug-free
world is an illusion. We must focus instead
on ensuring that drugs cause the least
possible harm. Harm reduction measures,
such as needle exchange programs, can
make a real difference. Germany adopted
such measures early on and the level of HIV
infections among injecting drug users is
close to 5 percent, compared to over 40
percent in some countries which resist this
pragmatic approach.
READ ALSO: Ghana signs €31.6m
employment programme agreement
Third, we have to look at regulation and
public education rather than the total
suppression of drugs, which we know will
not work. The steps taken successfully to
reduce tobacco consumption (a very
powerful and damaging addiction) show
what can be achieved. It is regulation and
education, not the threat of prison, which
has cut the number of smokers in many
countries. Higher taxes, restrictions on sale
and effective anti-smoking campaigns have
delivered the right results.
The legal sale of cannabis is a reality that
started with California legalizing the sale of
cannabis for medical use in 1996. Since
then, 22 US states and some European
countries have followed suit. Others have
gone further still. A voter initiative which
gained a majority at the ballot box has
caused Colorado to legalize the sale of
cannabis for recreational use. Last year,
Colorado collected around $135 million in
taxes and license fees related to legal
cannabis sales. Others have taken less
commercial routes. Users of Spain’s
cannabis social clubs can grow and buy
cannabis through small non-commercial
organizations. And Canada looks likely to
become the first G7 country to regulate the
sale of cannabis next year.
Legal Regulation Protects Health
Initial trends show us that where cannabis
has been legalized, there has been no
explosion in drug use or drug-related
crime. The size of the black market has
been reduced and thousands of young
people have been spared criminal records.
But a regulated market is not a free market.
We need to carefully think through what
needs regulating, and what does not. While
most cannabis use is occasional, moderate
and not associated with significant
problems, it is nonetheless precisely
because of its potential risks that it needs
to be regulated.
And therefore, the fourth and final step is
to recognize that drugs must be regulated
precisely because they are risky. It is time
to acknowledge that drugs are infinitely
more dangerous if they are left solely in the
hands of criminals who have no concerns
about health and safety. Legal regulation
protects health. Consumers need to be
aware of what they are taking and have
clear information on health risks and how
to minimize them. Governments need to be
able to regulate vendors and outlets
according to how much harm a drug can
cause. The most risky drugs should never be
available “over the counter” but only via
medical prescription for people registered
as dependent users, as is already happening
in Switzerland.
Scientific evidence and our concern for
health and human rights must shape drug
policy. This means making sure that fewer
people die from drug overdoses and that
small-time offenders do not end up in jail
where their drug problems get worse. It is
time for a smarter, health-based approach
to drug policy.
It is time for countries, such as Germany,
which have adopted better policies at home,
to strongly advocate for policy change
abroad. The United Nations General
Assembly special session on the world drug
problem would be a good place to start.
Share this story:isky drugs should never be
available “over the counter” but only via
medical prescription for people registered
as dependent users, as is already happening
in Switzerland.
Scientific evidence and our concern for
health and human rights must shape drug
policy. This means making sure that fewer
people die from drug overdoses and that
small-time offenders do not end up in jail
where their drug problems get worse. It is
time for a smarter, health-based approach
to drug policy.
It is time for countries, such as Germany,
which have adopted better policies at home,
to strongly advocate for policy change
abroad. The United Nations General
Assembly special session on the world drug
problem would be a good place to start.
Share this story: