Text Size
Print
Email
International News
- Text Size
- Print
- Email
Ganja Possession Cleared From Criminal Records In Jamaica
Jamaican residents convicted of possessing or smoking small amounts of marijuana prior to October last year, will not have these convictions reflected on their criminal record.
The announcement follows legislative changes that came into effect on Wednesday (April 15) as part of the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015, also referred to as the ‘Ganja Reform Law’.
Justice Minister Mark Golding said that the system will now automatically expunge all such convictions, once the offender applies for his or her 'police' record.
"We're treating it administratively as an application for expungement, [so] when they apply for a copy of their record, if they have one of those offences on their record, it's expunged and it's given to them without that. That is already in place," Golding told journalists after delivering the keynote address at the regular weekly meeting of Rotary Club of Kingston held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston yesterday (April 16).
The amendments to the act now make possession of less than two ounces of marijuana a ticketable offence, with the offender no longer at risk of arrest or conviction.
However, when pressed by journalists as to the ability of arresting officers to accurately and consistently gauge the weight of the marijuana in question, the Golding said it was a minor issue in the overall context of the spirit and intent of the new law.
"The police will have to determine how they address that. That's an issue really for them," he responded.
"The offence is one of possession - if it's more than two ounces, certain legal consequences flow; if it's less than two ounces, different legal consequences flow. The minister of national security has indicated that they don't regard policing small quantities of ganja as a priority in the way in which the police spend their time. There are more serious fish to fry out there in terms of law enforcement."
2024 The Background Investigator. All Rights Reserved.