No focus on decriminalising marijuana – Harmon

…says Judiciary has some responsibility

The courts continue to hand down three-year sentences for possession of marijuana while legislation that would lessen the penalty continues to languish in a state of abeyance; and until recently, persons were left questioning Government’s intention in regard to decriminalising marijuana.

During a post-cabinet press briefing on Thursday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon affirmed that decriminalising the use of this substance is not on its immediate radar. He, instead, has laid that responsibility at the feet of the Judiciary, stating that the matter of sentencing lies within the purview of the Judiciary.
“With respect to decriminalisation of marijuana, that is not a matter that is engaging our immediate attention. What we have (is) a motion in the National Assembly by one of our members about the sentencing policy with regard to marijuana,” he explained.
“As far as decriminalising (marijuana is concerned), I think I made this point clear. What I can say to you is that the matter of sentencing is for the Judiciary to consider. The laws are there, and we believe it is a matter that engaged the Judiciary,” he elaborated.
Harmon noted it has been this way since the Camp Street Prison riots. A commission of inquiry that had cost some $13 million had been launched into the deadly riots, and its report had found that Government spends approximately $485,000 per year on one prisoner housed at the Camp Street penitentiary, which amounts to $1,329 per day.
The CoI had also found that reducing to manageable levels the number of inmates in prison was the single most important factor to ensuring that a safe, humane and purposeful prison was established.
University of Guyana Vice Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Griffith, a security expert, had once referred to the selective decriminalisation of marijuana as one way to lighten the load on the justice system.
“It was one of the issues that were raised, after the prison riot, in the engagement between the Judiciary and the Executive; and the Judiciary undertook to examine the matter,” Harmon said. “And that is as far as we are right now.”
Parliamentarian Michael Carrington had draft legislation intended to reduce the penalties attached to possession of small amounts of marijuana intended for personal use. That legislation has been pending for a year now.
Former AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes, with the help of Attorney Mark Waldron, had drafted a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015, which seeks to soften the penalties for marijuana possession. That draft stipulates that persons who are found in possession of the drug for personal use would be required to pay a fine of $10,000, or perform community service for a period of time.
While a number of developed countries have acted to decriminalise marijuana, and the movement is gaining momentum worldwide, President David Granger has instead cautioned against buying into practices being embarked upon by developed countries that have the requisite framework in place to support such legislative reforms.
The President has made it clear that such reforms are currently not a concern of the Government; and, on a more personal note, has declared that he would not subscribe to the usage of marijuana.
According to Guyana’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, once someone has summarily been convicted of possession of any narcotic, that person is liable to be imprisoned — for at least three years and at most five. There is also a fine attached to such conviction.
Talk about decriminalising marijuana gained new life in 2015 after the public outcry that erupted over the sentencing of football coach Vibert Butts to three years’ imprisonment for having 46 grammes of cannabis in his possession.
But there have been other cases, which include a grandmother who was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $15,000, earlier this year, after she was found guilty of smuggling six grams of cannabis sativa into a prison.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo was recently asked to spell out the PPP/C’s position on decriminalisation of marijuana. He reiterated that party’s support for the decriminalisation of small quantities of marijuana, though he had noted that the party does not have enough research on the topic to make a definitive pronouncement.