be sufficient, on its own, to ground this Report. Rather, it felt it necessary to carefully evaluate the available scientific, medical, legal and social data to arrive at its conclusions.
Main Rationales for Calls for Reform
2.15. The debate and consistent demand for law reform on cannabis/ marijuana law is as a result of the several deep social and legal problems that a law that is characterised by prohibition, but uninformed by proven legal or scientific rationales, invokes. The most problematic of these, which are discussed in depth below, include:
Without question, there is a clear public opinion, in favour of legal reform to existing laws on cannabis/marijuana and the removal of prohibition.
(a) Continued claims of persecution and discrimination by profiled categories of marijuana users, in particular low income persons and Rastafarians who are criminalised and their lives negatively impacted; (b) The realisation that the existing, prohibitionist law is not an effective deterrent to usage, including by children; (c) The lack of proportionality in the law in terms of strict liability, harsh and mandatory sentences, when compared to other offences, including more serious offences; (d) Assertions of violations of religious freedom by Rastafarian religious practitioners; (e) Accumulated scientific data that cannabis is not as harmful as depicted and in fact, has beneficial properties, leading to growing demands for usage for medicinal purposes to substitute for expensive and sometimes ineffective pharmaceuticals and its removal or status as a ‘dangerous drug’; (f) Greater awareness of the economic potential of cannabis/marijuana and increasing opportunities for international and local business; (g) Providing opportunities for brilliant Caribbean researchers and scientists in the new industries and medical revolution, particularly since Caribbean peoples were original pioneers and the region has unique strains of cannabis; (h) The realisation that prohibition based law is counter-productive and creates criminality (failure of the war on drugs); (i) The belief that prohibition violates human rights without being “reasonably required” as the constitutions demand; (j) The finding that illegality leads to further criminalisation and financial sanctions because of proceeds of crime laws; (k) The concern that cannabis use has broader social origins, since usage, especially by young people, is directly related to structural social problems, such as social inequality; hopelessness, poverty, stress etc., which require approaches based on care and rehabilitation, public health improvements and enhanced macro-social policy, instead of punitive measures.
Maintaining the Status Quo
2.16. On the other side of the spectrum, the voices against change, which today, appear to be few, have focussed mainly on the following: (i)
Concerns about increased usage and greater access by children and young persons;
(ii)
The perception that cannabis/ marijuana is a dangerous substance that is more harmful than familiar substances like alcohol and has no societal value; 13