Jamaican pot laws

[Hayduke_Lives]

Did they ever completely legalize marijuana in Jamaica? I know last year there was a lot of talk about it, and they were seriously considering it, but I’ve heard nothing. Did they ever go through with it and completely decriminalize it?

[Kal]

Jamaican Dangerous drugs act - most of the links are to .PDF files.

7C. Every person who has in his possession any ganja shall be guilty of an offence and -

(a) on conviction before a Circuit Court, shall be sentenced to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment; or

(b) on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate, shall be liable -

(i) to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each ounce of ganja which the Resident Magistrate is satisfied is the subject-matter of the offence, so, however, that any such fine shall not exceed fifteen thousand dollars; or

(ii) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years; or

(iii) to both such fine and imprisonment.

So, to answer your question: No, Jamaica has not legalized marijuana.

[scotth]

Having just returned (In may) from Jamaica, what Kal says is correct.

However, what is on the books as law and what is tolerated are very different things.

You will see people smoking openly all over the place. Appearently there is little to no fear of being bothered by the police about it down there.

[Mr.Duality]

The Lonely Planet Guidebook says there is no reason to carry it around with you, since you can always get some “when you reach”, as they say.

[AmbushBug]

Some six years ago my company sponsored a trip to Jamaica (big sales goal reached). Two of our bunch went to rent a car, the attendant asked them if they’d like to buy some, they declined - but a block away the police stopped them and frisked them.

The only conclusion I drew from this, is that the law is enforced on whomever they think could pay the fines

AmbushBug
we stayed here, it was nice enough.

[Mike_H]

A fine of $100 per ounce of ganja (I love how the legal term in Jamaica is ganja). Assuming that’s Jamaican dollars that comes to a whopping $2 US (Exchange rate of $48J to $1 US). Maybe that’s a lot to the locals but hardly seems like a fine at all.

[Hayduke_Lives]

This is what I was talking about:
http://www.lindesmith.org/lindesmith/news/DailyNews/08_16_01Jamaica2.html

[Kal]

For anyone interested here’s the (very long) report by the Jamaican National Commission on Ganja.

Mike H, the fines are in Jamaican dollars and yes, that would be a lot of money to the locals. Don’t forget though, that there is the threat of jail time. I know someone who served a few years in a Jamaican prison and from what he told me, you wouldn’t want to go there.

[scotth]

It would me much of fine to the locals.

About the price of a six pack of coke in the convenience stores down there. If you can call them “convenience” stores.

[Kal]

Well, here’s the Jamaican minimum wage from http://www.jamaicaemployers.com/faq.html:

5. QUESTION: What is the National Minimum Wage?

ANSWER: Effective August 2, 1999, the new National Minimum Wage increased to $30 per hour or $1,200 per week. The new minimum wage for Industrial Security Guards as of Monday, July 5, 1999 would be $50.50 per hour or $2,020 per week. Previously the National Minimum Wage was $20 per hour or $800 per week and the Minimum for Industrial Security Guards was $40.5 per hour or $1,620 per week. They would also be entitled to a laundry allowance of $10 per hour up from $7; firearm premium allowance of $10 per hour up from $8; and dog holder’s premium allowance of $5 per hour up from $3. The allowances are not payable for any period of work in excess of 40 hours in any one-week.

If my sums are correct, Jamaican minimum wage is 62 cents an hour (security guards $1.05).

and from http://www.blackbritain.co.uk/News/News.asp?i=38&c=caribbean, in an article about Jamaican civil servants accepting an offer to increase their pay to within 80% of rates in the private sector:

For example, Junior Auditors, who now earn roughly $354,000 (£5,600) per annum, will as from April 1 2001, be paid $421,991 (£6700).
From October 2002, the figure will move to $431,453 (£6,800), rising to about $440,000 (£7,006) in April 2003. In April 2004, the amount will be $455,000 (£7,250) with further increases up to $469,000 (£7,500) by April 2005.

That means that from October this year, a junior auditor working for the civil service will be earning US$ 8988 a year.

I’ve been unable to turn up the average wage in Jamaica, but it’s fair to assume that it’s pretty low.

[DoctorJ]

There is a small penalty for failure to pass the dutchie on the left hand side.

[plnnr]

No one seemed particularly interested in us when we were smoking in Negril, but they certainly went to the extreme to make sure that we weren’t trying to take anything out of the country with us. Full body cavity search for both me and my SO.