PPP supports conscience vote to decriminalise marijuana

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has reiterated that the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) supports the decriminalisation of marijuana, but he noted that the Party does not have enough research on the topic to make a definitive pronouncement.

Responding to questions about the decriminalisation of hemp (a variety of cannabis sativa), Jagdeo addressed the issue of marijuana and said the PPP would support the decriminalisation of the drug in small quantities for private use.
“We campaigned on this. We said that the PPP will look at decriminalising small quantities, and it is in our manifesto…We will allow a conscious vote on the part of our MPs; those who want to support it can support, and those who don’t want to, well, they are allowed (to dissent)…,” he explained during a press conference on Monday.
Jagdeo said this decision was triggered in light of cases in which persons are being sentenced to serve lengthy jail time for using weed.
“Somebody has a tiny bit or they have one cigarette, one marijuana cigarette, and they get sentenced to three years… You have big traffickers who have a lot of money and they have good legal representation and they don’t even get any jail time,” he outlined.
The Opposition Leader explained, “What we are saying is that if you find people with extremely small quantities for personal use — not trafficking — then you should find alternative sentencing.”
Alternative sentencing could include community work or rehabilitation centres, according to Jagdeo.
Parliamentarian Michael Carrington’s draft legislation to relax the penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use has been pending for more than one year now.
Former AFC Chairman Nigel Hughes, with the help of Attorney Mark Waldron, compiled a draft Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2015, which seeks to soften the penalties for marijuana possession. The 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 the decriminalisation/legalisation of marijuana movement is gaining much momentum worldwide, President David Granger had cautioned against buying into practices being embarked upon by developed countries that have the requisite framework in place to support such legislative reforms.
President Granger made it clear that such reforms are not a current concern of the Government; and, on a more personal note, he declared that he would not subscribe to the usage of marijuana.
“This is not something that is a preoccupation of the Administration at the present time… (and) I would not counsel the use of marijuana by young people or anybody,” he firmly stated during an interview on ‘The Public Interest’ back in May, 2016.